Connected
by Animegod 197
Summary: A look at the relationship between Arnold Shortman and Helga Gearldine Pataki and the different things that tie the two together.
1. Divine Goodness

Hello fanfiction world. This is my second Hey Arnold story. It is of course an ArnoldxHelga story because I love this couple. The fic will be written in themes with two chapters for each theme. The themes represent a particular aspect of their relationship that (IMO) connects them together, hence the title of the fic. One chapter will from Helga's POV and the other will be from Arnold's POV. The name of the particular theme being addressed will be in bold at the beginning of each chapter. I hope you enjoy the story.

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><p><strong>1.) Kindred Spirits<strong>

Arnold was, to those who knew him, goodness personified. He was an idealist to the point of almost willful ignorance; Arnold believed not only that humanity as a whole was basically good, but that nearly every human being had some good in them, no matter how small the amount. He was The Nice Guy, always willing to help a person in need, even if that person was the most unlovable wretch on the face of the earth. It also didn't matter what the cost to him was; Arnold would help someone even if he suffered doing so, whether physically or mentally. He tried to do the right thing at all times and encouraged others to do the same. He was nice to everyone, as much as was possible. He was also the eternal optimist. Arnold always saw the good instead of the bad, no matter the situation.

Arnold of course, was also human and as such, as patient and kind as he tried to be, even he had a breaking point and he would lash out in frustration if someone or something got on his very last nerve. However, these incidents were incredibly rare and even when Arnold snapped, he never acted cruelly toward anyone. Arnold was never malicious and if he did offend or hurt someone, he would apologize and do whatever it took to make amends (no matter how difficult or humiliating).

Arnold's nature seemed to be devoid of any evil, any malice whatsoever. He was incapable of being deliberately mean and even the people who knew him best marveled at the purity of his character, wondering how such purity was possible. Ironically, the person who was most aware and the most appreciative of Arnold's nature did her best to make his life miserable.

Helga Pataki often declared her hatred for the boy in public, but her true feelings for him were a carefully guarded secret. She loved him, deeply and obsessively, and had ever since she first met him at three years old. One of the consequences of her obsession with him was that she stalked him constantly. Helga had watched and studied Arnold for years and as a result, knew things about him that only his closest friend and his grandparents knew.

She had developed a theory about Arnold that, to her at least, explained his incredible virtuousness. Helga believed that it was impossible for any human to be wholly good, just as Arnold believed that it was impossible for any human to be wholly evil. Arnold's belief had gone unchallenged so far, but her belief was challenged daily by Arnold's very existence. The boy truly could do no wrong. Everything he did and said had a pure motive behind it. The one time in his life that Arnold acted out in anger was in retaliation to **her** cruelty and he _still _apologized, so that didn't count in Helga's mind.

Arnold's goodness truly defied human nature and so Helga concluded that Arnold himself transcended human nature. He obviously wasn't a god or any other divine being, but she did think he must have been gifted with some form of divine goodness or purity. That's not to say that she believed that Arnold was perfect and was incapable of doing anything bad under any circumstances. Helga thought that Arnold had a heart that was wholly good, without a trace of wickedness. Nothing else could account for his perpetual kindness and amazing capacity to forgive.

He may have inadvertently done some bad things or unknowingly said things that hurt others, but he always corrected his mistakes. Helga believed that Arnold was blessed with a nature that made it impossible for him to act with malice, to purposely do wrong. It was that pure nature that she fell in love with on the day she met him. It was that same nature that, at least in part, made her believe that she could never be with him. She was unworthy of someone so selfless and caring.

What Helga didn't know was that her theory may not have been too far off. Arnold's birth was in fact, miraculous. He was born in San Lorenzo surrounded by vegetation, fauna, and an active, erupting volcano. At the moment of his nativity, all nature was silenced. The volcano suddenly became dormant again, the ground stopped shaking, and the lava stopped flowing. Soon after, various animals came around to see the newborn baby. Arnold was a miracle baby and the native people of San Lorenzo truly believed that he was divine, a messiah come to save them from some great tribulation.

Helga had no knowledge of any of this, but if she did, she might have been inclined to agree with the people of San Lorenzo. Arnold may not have been divine himself, but he was certainly divinely gifted. In Helga's opinion, that gift was a divine heart; a heart that was completely good. She loved that heart and she had given her own heart to Arnold as a result. But there was something else about Arnold that Helga didn't know. He had given her his heart too.


	2. Concealed Nature

This is the second chapter of the story as well as the second chapter of the first theme. Hope you like it.

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><p><strong>1.) Kindred Spirits<strong>

She was an enigma, a mystery that he had been trying to solve for the better part of six years. He had made some progress, but there was so much that he still didn't understand. There were times that he wondered if he would ever truly know Helga G. Pataki. Then he asked himself why he gave a damn about her or her life. Then he answered his own question; He knew that unraveling the mystery of just who Helga was tied directly into his relationship with her. If he could figure her out, their relationship would be forever changed.

To most people, the name Helga G. Pataki conjured up negative words and images. Angry, brash, cynical, domineering, mean, and violent were the words commonly associated with her. About the only positive words ever attached to Helga were usually reserved for males, like tough, fearless, and leader. She was the definition of a tomboy. Aside from Patty Smith, Helga was the most masculine girl in the city. She could play contact sports as well as any boy, she was strong enough to take on most adults in a fight and she was very independent.

She was also violent, short tempered, and sharp-tonged. Helga was known in PS 118 as a bully with a caustic wit. She would push kids into lockers while walking down the hall for seemingly no reason, regularly threatened anyone who got on her nerves or dared to challenge her authority and her fists were infamous for being able to make anybody think twice about crossing her. She had no problem making fun of people, no matter who they were and it was rumored that she could reduce a person to tears with her words alone.

Arnold was acquainted with Helga's negative attributes better than anyone else because he bared the biggest brunt of her wrath every day. Whether it was shooting spitballs in the back of his head, spraying water in his face when he took a drink from the fountain or gluing feathers to his butt when he sat down in class, Arnold was the focus of Helga's cruelty each day.

Anyone else would've grown to despise Helga under such circumstances and anyone else would've fought back. Arnold never did (except once, and he regretted it afterward). He didn't believe in responding to bad behavior with more bad behavior. Despite the torture she inflicted on him, Arnold didn't hate her either. His best friend Gerald often asked him why he didn't hate her and it was a valid question. The truth was that he couldn't. It wasn't that he _wanted _to hate her because he didn't, but even if he had, he wouldn't have been able to.

Arnold couldn't hate her because he knew that Helga wasn't as bad as she made herself out to be. No matter what she said or how mean she acted, Arnold knew that the mean girl persona was in large part, an act. He had figured that much out in the time he'd known her. Buried deep beneath the surface was a person completely different from the one Helga portrayed and every once in a while, that person showed itself. You had to be vigilant to see it as its appearance was always fleeting. Arnold had seen that person come out and those brief glimpses showed him who he believed was the _real _Helga.

The real Helga was kind. She was sensitive. She was creative. She was loyal. She was caring. In short, the real Helga was _good_. Everyone else saw Helga has a bad girl, but Arnold knew that wasn't who she was at heart. She was a good person deep down. In fact, Arnold would venture to bet that in her heart of hearts, Helga was probably one of the most loving people he had ever met (and he had no idea just how right he was).

Because she kept her true self locked away most of the time, no one else knew that about her, except maybe Phoebe. Though he had to admit, Arnold felt a certain pride that he was the only one who knew the _real _Helga. If he could bring that other person out, the one that represented who Helga really was, their relationship would improve dramatically. Arnold just knew it. They could start over. They could finally be friends. And maybe more…


	3. A Shattered Soul

Hi readers. Here's the third chapter of the story and the start of the second theme. If you have any questions about what the theme titles mean, feel free to ask. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

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><p><strong>2.) Savior<strong>

_Helga walked anxiously into the living room. She could see her older sister on the piano stool and her parents on either side of Olga, praising her for the song she'd just finished. The young girl had heard the piano playing from upstairs and already knew that the endeavor she was about to undertake was likely to be fruitless, but she didn't have much choice. Going up to her dad, Helga tugged on his pant leg._

"_Daddy, who's gonna take me to preschool?" she asked._

_The hulking man glanced at his younger daughter and absentmindedly said, "oh yeah, yeah sure" before turning his attention back to Olga, asking the prodigy to play another selection._

"_I know. How about 'Minute Waltz' by monsieur Fredrick Chopin?" Olga suggested._

"_Oh, I love that one!" Miriam said._

"_Yeah, you should hear her play Beethoven, Miriam," Bob said, though he mispronounced the composer's name as 'bee thoven'._

"_Can you believe our Olga? A concert pianist at fifteen, class valedictorian!" Mariam gushed hugging her eldest daughter around the face._

"_Plus, she's won every spelling bee in the whole darn city!" Bob said proudly. "Makes me proud to be a Pataki," he said as if to validate his own pride._

_Helga, tired of hearing her parents rave about her older sibling's genius and now running short on time, raised her voice. _

"_Hey, who's takin' me to preschool?" she asked again, tugging on her dad's pant leg more forcefully._

_Looking down at Helga, Bob again gave the girl a dismissive reply. "Yeah, eh, in a minute Olga."_

_He had done it again. He called her by her sister's name. "No, I'm Helga dad. Helga!" she said. _

_Her voice carried both frustration and a plea that her dad would acknowledge her as who she was. Helga, not Olga. Unfortunately, his response told Helga that her unspoken plea had fallen on deaf ears. _

"_Whatever," he said, his tone now carrying annoyance. Turning his back to her (and unknowingly adding insult to injury in the process) , he added, "Go play outside would ya?". _

_Angry at her dad's thoughtless remark and knowing further attempts to gain his attention would be useless, Helga said "I'm going to preschool" before walking out of the room. _

"_What do you know? One minute flat! You're amazing Olga!" Bob said, not having heard his younger daughter._

"_I'm going to preschool!" Helga yelled, knowing she wouldn't be heard, but still hoping someone would wish her a good day. When silence met her words, Helga slammed the front door._

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><p>Even as a toddler, when she needed her parents to take care of her, Helga was invisible and left to fend for herself. Her dad constantly calling her Olga was the biggest insult. It was a constant reminder that "Helga" wasn't important to him. He only cared about "Olga". Olga represented success and Bob was a man obsessed with success and prestige. If you didn't produce observable results immediately, you were useless as far as he was concerned. Helga wasn't perfect in her father's eyes, so she didn't matter.<p>

Her mother at least remembered Helga's name and showed occasional concern for her daughter's well-being, but aside from that, Miriam wasn't much better than Bob as a parent. Helga would often see Miriam passed out on the couch or the kitchen table after drinking a few of her "smoothies", her mother's codeword for liquor. When she was awake, she was usually at least mildly intoxicated, and the rare periods when she was sober never lasted long. As a result, Miriam was chronically forgetful, her voice was unnaturally monotone and she could barely perform her minimum duties as a mother, let alone her duties as a wife.

Olga was the only one who consistently paid attention to Helga and ironically, it was Olga's attention that she wanted _least. _Olga seemed to genuinely want to have a loving relationship with her younger sister, but Helga didn't believe it. She saw Olga as a very shallow person, only concerned about grades and pleasing others. Olga had told Helga that she hated the pressure that her parents put her under and Helga didn't think that was a lie. However, to suggest that Helga was 'lucky' that her parents never noticed her was an insult. Of course, Helga didn't want the suffocating expectations that were heaped on her older sister, but if Olga truly didn't get how lonely Helga was as a person as a result of her parent's neglect, then Olga was a fool.

Still, loneliness and resentment at her parents weren't what turned her into a bully. Those feelings merely laid the foundation.

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><p><em>Later that day at school, Helga was staring at a boy with golden hair and a football-shaped head with a lovestruck expression. While lost in her reverie, a fat boy in a white shirt and grey shorts stole her crackers. When Helga felt for her plate and was met with the table surface, she glanced over at the next table in time to see the fat boy devour her snacks.<em>

_Deeply hurt by the unprovoked cruelty, Helga was about to cry when she saw another plate of crackers in front of her. Helga looked up to see the football-headed boy, offering her his plate._

"_Want mine?" he asked, smiling at her._

_Helga nodded and took the plate. The boy waved goodbye to her as he went back to his table, still smiling. She waved back and once again, a lovestruck look adorned her features. Helga let out a happy sigh, but immediately afterward, she heard laughter. Looking at the next table, she saw the other kids pointing at her and laughing. They had seen her looking at the football-headed boy and were teasing her about it. _

_At that moment, Helga's sadness turned to anger. Helga glared at the fat boy and pushed him to the floor._

"_Quit laughin' geekbait or you'll have to answer to Old Betsy and the Five Avengers!" She said, raising her fists to him._

"_Old who and the five what?" he asked._

"_My fists, stupid! That's their names."_

"_What? Your fists have names? Oh, you're confusing me!" he shouted._

_Helga jumped on the boy's stomach and began to walk around the classroom, knocking over blocks, stepping on toys and pushing kids down in order to stake her territory._

"_I'm the boss around here, got it?"_

_All the students nodded without saying a word._

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><p>Helga knew that her feelings for Arnold would make her a victim if she didn't take charge and send the message that Helga G. Pataki was NOT to be messed with. In order to do that, Helga became the resident tough girl who would knock you out with Ol' Betsy if you crossed the line. Eventually, the role became a part of her personality and she got so used to being the feared badass that she was scared to let down her walls and reveal her inner self.<p>

At the core, Helga was a lonely girl who wanted to feel loved more than anything else. She wanted to know that she was cared about, that she meant something to somebody. But after almost a decade, she was beginning to think she was fated to remain loveless. She didn't exist to her family, she was hated by her peers, and looked down on by adults.

Helga seemed to have trapped herself in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Her status as a bully invited the scorn of her fellow students and the community as a whole and yet, if she were to let her true nature show and in the process, leave herself vulnerable, she would become the target of ridicule which would only exacerbate her emotional turmoil, leaving her more broken than she already was. Helga was a soul shattered and there was only one person who could make her whole again.


	4. Behind the Mask

For anyone still reading this, here's the fourth chapter and the second chapter for the second theme. Hope you like it

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><p><strong>2.) Savior<strong>

_As Arnold sat in the waiting room of the Hillwood Medical Center, his anxiety seemed to skyrocket. So many questions ran through his mind. Was what he was doing right? For that matter, was it even legal? If not, could he go to jail? Would Dr. Bliss go to jail? Would she lose her medical license? Was his plan even feasible? Would the psychiatrist really break her Hippocratic Oath just to help a desperate boy? Even if she did, would this whole thing backfire? What about Helga? Would she hate him for this? _

_Well, she already hates me. All this stunt can do is make her hate me more. Then why am I doing this? He thought._

_He needed answers. Arnold realized that in order to get Helga out of her shell, he needed to know where it came from. He knew that Helga had been seeing Dr. Bliss for the last 6 months and thought that talking to the child psychologist would give him the answers he sought._

"_Arnold, Dr. Bliss will see you now," the receptionist said._

_Arnold nodded and went into Dr. Bliss's office._

"_Hello, Arnold," she said, smiling at him._

"_Hi," he said nervously._

"_Sit down. Make yourself comfortable."_

_Arnold went and laid down on the couch._

"_Now before we begin, I need to know one thing," Dr. Bliss said, looking pointedly at him. "Does this visit have anything to do with your classmate Helga Pataki?"_

_Arnold immediately sat up and looked at her, shocked. "How did you know?" he asked._

_Dr. Bliss gave the football-headed boy a knowing smile. "Call it woman's intuition. What is it about your relationship with her that you wish to talk about?"_

"_Well, I was hoping that you could help me figure out how to change our relationship," Arnold said._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Helga is almost always mean to everyone, me in particular. Most people just assume that she's mean by nature, but she's not. I know it."_

_Dr. Bliss had to resist the urge to laugh. "Really? Why do you say that?"_

"_She's just done too many good things for me to believe that her attitude reflects who she really is on the inside. She gave me my hat back when I lost it, she saved her sister from marrying a con-artist, she helped my Grandpa beat her own dad in the Parent's Day competition last summer and she even helped me and Gerald save the city from Mr. Sheck. She's a good person, Dr. Bliss; she has to be."_

_Dr. Bliss smiled. Helga had told her of all these experiences herself in their sessions. "And you're wondering why she always acts like a bully, if that's not who she is as a person. Am I right?"_

"_Exactly! I don't understand why she has to wear the mean girl mask all the time. I've been trying to figure it out for seventy-five percent of my time on this earth and I've gotten nowhere. That's why I'm here. I know Helga is a patient of yours and I'm sure that she's told you what made her into a bully. I know you're sworn never to reveal the conversations you have with your patients but…I need to know."_

"_Well first of all, I was never told why Helga became a bully because as far as she's concerned, she's always been a bully," Dr. Bliss said._

"_Then she's lying to herself," Arnold said._

"_May I ask why you want to know so badly?"_

"_Because if I can know what made her into a mean girl in the first place, maybe I can get her to let down her walls and show me that good person that I know is inside."_

"_Are you saying that you believe that cruelty and aggressiveness aren't a part of her personality? That they're merely a part of this façade?"_

"_No. I know she's tough and mean and angry. Those things may be part of her, but they're not representative of all she is. I wanna know the _real_ Helga. The whole person, not just the mean girl."_

"_And what makes you think that I could help you in that task?" Dr. Bliss asked._

"_You've been seeing her since the beginning of the year. You have to have some idea of where this bully persona came from," Arnold said._

"_Well Arnold, I would be curious to know why you're so focused on knowing the 'real' Helga, as you say, but we'll lay that aside for now. Even assuming that I do know the root of her anti-social attitude, you know that I'm bound to confidence, not only by my Hippocratic Oath, but by Helga as well and I could never betray the trust Helga's placed in me."_

"_I understand but-"_

"_I'm sorry Arnold. I'm sure your intentions are good, but I'm bound to silence."_

_Arnold looked down dejectedly. He figured this would happen._

"_If you really want to know, why not ask Helga? I'm bound to confidence, but she's not," Dr. Bliss said._

"_Come on. If she made you swear not to tell, do you really think she'd voluntarily tell anyone else?" Arnold said._

"_Well you know what they say. Anything worth having is worth fighting for."_

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><p>It had been nearly two months since that visit but Arnold hadn't forgotten Dr. Bliss's words. If he wanted to solve the mystery of Helga G. Pataki, he had to do whatever it took. That was why he was sitting up in his room, waiting for her to come to his house. He had asked her to study with him after school as a pretense to interrogate her about her family. It was a bold move, and he didn't know if it would work, but he had to try.<p>

Arnold remembered that Helga told him once that she didn't like her older sister Olga. Not in those words, but he could tell from the way she talked that Helga's relationship with Olga wasn't friendly. Arnold wondered if her relationship with her parents was as strained. If so, maybe it could help explain Helga's "anti-social attitude".

"Arnold! Your little friend is here!" Grandpa Phil yelled up.

About a minute later, Helga came into the room.

"Alright Football Head, let's get this study session over with," Helga said gruffly.

"Sure Helga. Could you lock the door behind you so we don't get disturbed?"

"Whatever." She locked the door and sat across from him on the floor.

"So, what should we go over first? Vocabulary? Important people and dates?" Arnold asked, opening his History textbook.

"I hate going over vocabulary words so let's save that for last," Helga said.

"That's fine. The chapter is about the 1920s so how about we start by reviewing the defining elements of the time period?" Arnold suggested.

"Whatever floats your boat Arnoldo," Helga said flatly.

Arnold's brows furrowed in annoyance. "You know, you could at least pretend to take this seriously. We have a test over this chapter in a week."

"Well excuse me for not finding early 20th century History as exciting as you do, football head!" She said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"It's not that I find the subject riveting, I'd just like some actual input from you. We're supposed to be studying together."

Helga gave a tired sigh. "Fine."

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><p>The two ended up studying for nearly five hours, going over information and vocabulary words, quizzing each other, and teasing each other every so often. Once they felt they had covered what they needed to, Helga was getting ready to leave. Arnold hadn't forgotten his real objective and caught her hand before she could reach the door.<p>

For a moment, Helga melted in his touch, but quickly put on her mean girl mask again. "Who said you could touch me, hair boy?" Helga said, glaring at him.

"Helga, can we talk?" Arnold asked.

"If you don't let go of my hand, I'll knock out all your teeth so you won't be able to talk."

"Alright, but promise you'll at least hear me out."

Helga hesitated for a moment, wondering what he was up to. Figuring it couldn't hurt to at least listen to what he had to say, she nodded. Arnold let go of her hand, almost reluctantly.

"Something about you has been bugging me for a while now. Do you remember when Doug was going to marry Olga and you told me he was a fake?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"When you spoke about Olga, I could tell you didn't like her. My question is why? She seems like a kind-hearted person."

"What brought this on football head?"

"I just don't see how you could dislike your own sister given her personality. Is it because you're jealous of her?"

Helga's eyes narrowed. "No. I have no reason to be jealous of Ol-ga. I don't care that she gets straight As, I don't care that she's beautiful, I don't care that she's a musical prodigy. I have my own skills that I'm proud of. And as for her personality, you know how Doug was a big faker? So is Olga."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that cheery disposition is nothing but a façade. Ol-ga is a neurotic perfectionist terrified of even the slightest failure because Big Bob puts a tortuous amount of pressure on her to be perfect all the time. That attitude is her way of suppressing her stress. She'll probably end up in an asylum when she finally cracks from the pressure."

"Helga, that's terrible. Don't you feel sorry for her?" Arnold asked.

"No way! Why should I? Olga's the whole reason my family doesn't notice my existence! I mean criminy, my own dad constantly calls me by her name because Ol-ga is all he cares about! "

"What?" Arnold asked, looking at her in disbelief.

"That's right Arnoldo! Big Bob hates me. He wishes I wasn't 'Helga' because 'Helga' isn't perfect! 'Helga' isn't gorgeous! He hates me because I'm not Olga!"

"Helga, come on…don't you think you're being a little harsh? I mean, Bob may not be Father of the Year, but he doesn't hate you."

"Arnold, do you know my dad personally?" Helga asked.

"No but-"

"Then trust me when I say, my father hates me."

Arnold shook his head. "I can't believe that Helga. No father could be that cold."

"Oh no? Do you remember when Bob was willing to sell out our city for the sake of money? What do you think that would've done to me? I would've had to leave Phoebe behind, establish myself at a new school and gone through the process of reintegrating myself in a new community, all without anyone who cared about me to help me along the way. And Bob wouldn't have given a damn."

Arnold looked down. He hadn't forgotten and unfortunately, Helga was right about her father's callousness.

"What about your mom? Surely, she doesn't hate you."

Helga's eyes cast down and her expression turned sad. "No, she doesn't…" Her face twisted into an angry scowl again. "But she's no better than Bob when it comes to tossing me to the side in favor of Ol-ga."

"Does your sister know about the neglect?"

"She knows, but she doesn't care. In fact, she thinks it's a _good _thing that my parents don't notice that I'm alive because she thinks her situation is worse!"

"Is your family really that bad?" he asked softly, looking at her sadly. He felt horrible for her.

"Yes, football head, it really is."

They were silent for several moments. Arnold spoke first.

"I know you don't want pity Helga, and I'm not trying to give that impression but…I really wish I could help you somehow."

Helga's stare softened slightly at his words, for she knew they were genuine. "Well, you can't Arnoldo." _Not in the way I would want anyway._ "Don't worry yourself over my problems."

"Helga, you know I can't do that," Arnold said.

"Well try your best. There's nothing you or I can do about it. You are to tell no one what we've discussed here. If you breathe a word to anyone, I will break your windpipe, got it?"

"You can trust me. I won't say a word."

"Good."

Helga left his room and Arnold sat on his bed, replaying the conversation that had just taken place. The good thing was that he now had an idea of why Helga was a bully. She was compensating for the lack of attention she got from her family by drawing attention to herself through being a tough girl.

_Still, she can't be happy drawing only negative attention to herself. She must be so lonely. _Arnold thought.

Helga had told him not to worry about her issues with her family because there was nothing he could do to help her.

_But it's not fair. She can't really expect me to just forget about something that's obviously having a huge impact on her life. She deserves to be happy just like anyone else. There's gotta be something I can do…_

Arnold spent the rest of the night trying to figure out a way to help Helga, but came up with nothing. She wouldn't want him to interfere with her family and it wasn't his place.

_I guess all I can do is try to be her friend. Show that I care._

Arnold fell into a dreamless sleep that night.


	5. Symbol of Love

Hello HA (Hey Arnold) and AH (ArnoldxHelga) fans. Here's the fifth chapter of the story and the third theme of Arnold & Helga's relationship that I'm focusing on. Hope you like it.

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><p><strong>3.) In My Eyes<strong>

When Helga got home that night, she immediately ran to her secret closet and sank to her knees in front of the image of her love and smiled. Just as the sculpture and football-shaped mask combination symbolized the boy that she had fallen so deeply in love with, Arnold himself symbolized the kindness, compassion and love that Helga had been denied by the dysfunctional, repressive and superficial disaster that she called a family. She opened her locket and looked lovingly at the picture inside.

"Oh Arnold! Time and again, you bestow grace on this miserable wretch, seeking to give comfort and ease her suffering, despite the fact that she repays you with only more suffering. Undeserving as I am, you still elect to show kindness and sympathy to _me_, the person who should be your most hated enemy. My love, if only you could understand what your presence in my life means to me. Despite what I told you afterward, the words I spoke in a flurry of heated passion that day on the FTI building held just as much truth as the words I speak this very moment. You are the spark that brings life to my dead and despondent existence, the light that banishes the darkness in my spirit, the warmth that melts and softens my hard, icy heart…and the love that can fix the broken girl you so graciously honor with your goodness. You may not have abolished my sorrow my love, but you have reprieved me of it, if only for tonight. Because of you, I can sleep peacefully."

Helga closed the locket and held it close to her heart for a few moments before leaving the closet and climbing into bed. She went over all the times she knew of that Arnold had helped not only her, but so many other people in Hillwood. He got Rhonda and Nadine to patch up their friendship, he helped Harold lose weight and get back his self-esteem, and helped a 13-year old third grader with an obvious learning disability to believe in himself and persevere through academic challenges.

Those feats however, were small in comparison to Arnold's most famous accomplishments. They included giving Stoop Kid (who clearly suffered from Agoraphobia) the courage to leave his stoop, helping Chocolate Boy overcome his addiction to chocolate, calming Curly (who likely suffered from malignant paranoid personality disorder) down and getting him to give himself up when the boy had locked himself in the principal's office, bonding with the Jolly-Olly man of all people, and of course, saving all of Hillwood from Mr. Sheck (though Arnold couldn't take _all _the credit for that, since she and Gerald had been instrumental to the success of the operation).

Helga gave a happy sigh as she recounted the instances when Arnold helped her. Of course, there was the day they met when he shared his umbrella and gave her his crackers. When she caught amnesia through being hit in the head with a baseball (inadvertently batted by Arnold), Arnold watched over her 24/7 until her memory came back (though she milked the situation for a few days afterwards to monopolize his attention). It was Arnold who convinced Patty Smith to spare her from a vicious beating after Helga had continually made fun of the fellow tomboy (one of the few times Helga was legitimately afraid of another human being, let alone another female).

All that and more was the reason why Helga saw Arnold as she did. He was a symbol of love; a symbol of all that was good in this world. Every good thing he did and every kind or helpful word he said was motivated by that basic emotion. Obviously, there are different kinds of love and brotherly love was what motivated Arnold to do good to others. Of course, Helga's love for Arnold ran much deeper than that, but she wasn't naïve enough to even hope for the possibility that Arnold reciprocated her feelings.

As Helga closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, she smiled because she was going to the one place where her love might be returned: her dreams.


	6. His Butterfly

Finished the sixth chapter finally. This one got a LOT more involved than I had originally intended. Hope you like it anyway.

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><p><strong>3.) In My Eyes<strong>

From that day on, Arnold's way of dealing with Helga changed. He had always been civil with her, regardless of how she treated him, but usually followed the other kids and tended to stay out of her way to avoid as much of her abuse as possible. Knowing what he did now, Arnold made a conscious effort to engage Helga whenever the opportunity presented itself to try and get to know her, being as kind and considerate as possible.

He started out by simply saying "hi" if he saw her passing by. Helga's response (if she gave one) was usually a grunt or a mocking greeting with an insult tacked on. Arnold would just smile and continue on his way. Once greeting her became a habit, Helga's defenses wore down and she started responding to Arnold in kind.

Once that point of civility was achieved, Arnold went to the next step and began asking Helga how her day was when school let out. Initially, she told him to mind his own business, but Arnold persisted and by the end of September, Helga was telling him details about her days at school. Arnold was proud of himself. Within the first week of October, Arnold had achieved his first objective in getting close to Helga: open communication.

His second objective was to start spending time with her and he knew the best way to do that was through her best friend Phoebe. Like his first objective, Arnold started out small, sometimes asking Phoebe if he could study with her and Helga in the library or on rare occasions, spending lunch with them if they decided to eat outside. Once he felt that Helga was comfortable being around him in school, Arnold looked for opportunities to spend time with her off school grounds, again using Phoebe to introduce the idea.

As the semester went on, Helga's attitude toward Arnold changed. She was much friendlier and seemed to relax when she was with him. She started inviting him to events with Phoebe and sometimes without Phoebe. By the end of Thanksgiving break, Arnold could confidently call Helga one of his best friends.

Throughout the semester, Arnold was as covert as possible about spending with Helga so as not to arouse suspicion. He may have been determined to become her friend, but Arnold knew that the other kids would find his changing relationship with his "sworn enemy" to be strange and he was already enough of an oddball as it was. Unfortunately for him, there was one person that Arnold couldn't hide from, no matter how hard he tried.

Gerald and Arnold had been best friends since before Pre-K and other than Arnold's grandfather (and unbeknownst to Gerald, Helga Pataki), there was nobody who knew Arnold better than him. He had noticed the boy's abrupt change in attitude toward Helga almost immediately, but didn't think much of it at first. Gerald assumed that Arnold's persistent attempts at being friendly toward the tomboy were motivated by a desire to get her to stop torturing him. However, as time went on, Gerald became increasingly convinced that something deeper was at work.

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><p><em>Arnold and Gerald were in the lunch line behind Helga and Phoebe. The two girls were talking about various subjects. Arnold and Gerald didn't pay the female pair much attention but as Helga and Phoebe finished filling their trays, something they said piqued Arnold's interest.<em>

"_It's very nice outside Helga. Why don't we eat lunch in the courtyard today? We can admire the leaves," Phoebe said._

"_Phebes, you know I don't regard the changing colors of the leaves with your level of fascination," Helga said. "But it is a nice day, so why not?" _

_Arnold smiled and turned to his best friend. "Hey Gerald, I think I'm gonna eat in the courtyard. The leaves are really pretty when they change color."_

_Gerald looked at Arnold questioningly. He hadn't heard the exchange between Helga and Phoebe but he still found Arnold's statement strange. The football-headed boy almost never ate outside and his reason for doing so now seemed flimsy at best. _

"_Since when do you care about the beauty of autumn leaves?" Gerald asked._

"_I've always found them lovely. Don't you?"_

"_I guess but-"_

"_Sorry Gerald, but I'd better get going," Arnold said suddenly, looking behind him. He turned back to Gerald and smiled sheepishly. "I uh, wanna admire the leaves for as long as possible. See ya!"_

_Arnold walked toward the double doors leading out of the cafeteria and it was then that Gerald noticed that he was following Phoebe and Helga. The boy raised an eyebrow at his friend in suspicion, knowing Arnold's true intentions. _

"_Admire the leaves huh? Whatever you say, Arnold. Whatever you say…"_

_Gerald shook his head as he went to sit with Harold and Sid._

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><p>Gerald never said anything to Arnold about his behavior at school, since it was at school where Arnold and Helga had the most interaction. It was only when Arnold started spending time with the tomboy <em>outside of school <em>that Gerald began to truly worry about his best friend.

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><p><em>It was the Saturday after Halloween and Arnold was getting ready to go to the opera house with Helga and Phoebe when the phone rang. He picked it up and heard Gerald's voice on the other end.<em>

"_Oh hey Gerald. What's up?"_

"_I should be asking you that question. Where are you man? The movie starts in twenty minutes," Gerald said._

_Arnold slapped his forehead. He'd forgotten that tonight was movie night. It was a tradition between the two of them._

"_I'm sorry Gerald. I forgot."_

"_You forgot? Arnold, we've been having movie night every Saturday for the past three years. What could be so pressing that you forgot?" Gerald asked, annoyance clear in his tone._

"_Well I kinda made another engagement for tonight on Thursday…" Arnold said meekly._

"_YOU WHAT?" _

_Arnold pulled the phone away from his ear at Gerald's unexpected outburst._

"_What other engagement?" Gerald asked, his voice softer but just as angry._

"_Phoebe and Helga are going to a Japanese opera tonight and Phoebe asked me if I'd like to come," Arnold said._

"_And you said yes? You don't even speak Japanese! And besides, why on earth would you agree to go when you KNOW that Saturday night is movie night?"_

"_I'm really sorry Gerald."_

"_Alright Arnold, that does it. What is goin' on between you and Helga?" Gerald asked._

"_What? Nothing's going on," Arnold said._

"_Then why did you agree to go to this opera on Saturday night of all nights?"_

"_Because tonight was the only night it was showing. It has nothing to do with Helga."_

"_It has everything to do with Helga. What, you think I haven't noticed you getting chummier with her? You are going out of your way to spend time with her. Would you have agreed to this engagement were it not for Helga?"_

_Arnold said nothing and Gerald had his answer._

"_That's what I thought. Face it Arnold, you're falling for her."_

"_No I'm not. We're just friends."_

"_Sure Arnold; whatever you say."_

_Gerald hung up and Arnold pushed the conversation out of his mind as he finished dressing._

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><p>Since then, Gerald had confronted Arnold a few more times about the increasing frequency with which he spent time with Helga, but Arnold always denied any romantic inclinations toward her and immediately dropped the subject.<p>

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><p>Now, it was the Friday before the start of Christmas break and school had just let out. Arnold, Gerald, Helga and Phoebe were walking to the bus together.<p>

"I guess I'll see you after the break. Well, Merry Christmas Phoebe," Helga said, giving a rare smile.

"Merry Christmas, Helga," Phoebe said, smiling as well. "Merry Christmas, Arnold and Gerald," she added.

"Merry Christmas, Phoebe", the two said simultaneously.

Helga didn't wish Gerald a Merry Christmas and he didn't wish her one either. Arnold and Gerald turned to each other and smiled.

"Merry Christmas man. Have a good break," Gerald said.

"You too Gerald. Merry Christmas."

The two did their secret handshake and caught up with Phoebe and Helga. They got to the bus and Arnold noticed that Helga hadn't wished him a Merry Christmas yet so he decided to do it first.

"Merry Christmas, Helga," he said.

Helga glanced at him but said nothing before getting on the bus. Arnold stared after her, confused and slightly hurt. On the bus ride, Helga didn't look at him or talk to him. Phoebe got off at her house, then Gerald got off at his house. When the bus got to the boarding house, Arnold looked at Helga one last time and to his surprise, she was looking back at him.

Arnold got up and Helga did likewise. They walked toward each other and then to the front of the bus. Arnold got off and Helga followed. They turned to each other and stared, neither knowing what to say.

"Helga?" Arnold finally asked.

"…Merry Christmas, Arnold…" she said softly, smiling.

Arnold was taken aback for a moment, but smiled back. "Merry Christmas, Helga."

"Sorry for not answering before, but I do have a reputation to keep."

"That's okay. Well, I'll see you later."

"Yeah…"

Helga walked past him in the direction of her house. Arnold smiled as he watched her go. Even if she was still the tough girl in front of everyone else, the fact that she came out of her shell around him was enough. Arnold often likened Helga to a butterfly. The bully persona was her cocoon, the outer shell that she used to keep others at arms-length and hide her emotions and insecurities.

Inside that cocoon was the part of Helga that she almost never showed or acknowledged; the kind, sensitive, compassionate part, the part that represented the butterfly. Helga very rarely let out that butterfly and Arnold was both proud and happy to have the privilege of seeing it on an almost daily basis.

_I always knew my butterfly_ _was in there._

Arnold started up the steps to the boarding house and it wasn't until he was almost to the door that he realized what he had referred to Helga as.

_MY butterfly? Where did that come from? _

Arnold searched his mind, trying to find a reason why he would ever think of Helga as _his. _He recalled the way he felt whenever Helga let down her walls around him. He was ecstatic of course but also proud that all his persistence had paid off.

_Well, I deserve to be proud don't I? I mean, I worked all that time to earn the privilege of being someone that Helga considers a friend, someone that she allows to see that hidden part of her. Don't I have a right to enjoy it for myself?_

He realized in that moment that he was possessive of Helga, or at least a part of her and he felt that he had a right to be. He was the one who had worked to get close to her. He was the one who always tried to understand her. He was the one who wanted to see her happy. She was _his_ mystery, _his_ butterfly.

Arnold looked in the direction Helga had gone and smiled.

_My butterfly…I like the sound of that._

Arnold went into the boarding house and walked up the attic stairs to his room. He sat out down on his bed and another smile crossed his features as he had another epiphany. Maybe, just maybe…Gerald was right.


	7. Acknowledgement

Hello, my readership. I know it's been more than two months since I updated this story, but since school is out, I'll have more time to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Read & Review.

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><p><strong>4.) Between the Lines<strong>

Another wet projectile hit the back of Arnold's head. He didn't turn around and glare at the offending party or tell her to stop because he was used to it and understood why she still did it. The offender, Helga Pataki, realized that spitballs were ineffective at getting a reaction out of him, so she decided to try something different.

She reached into her desk and took out a marble, putting it into her straw. Making sure that it didn't fall out, she aimed the straw at the back of Arnold's head and fired.

"Ow!" Arnold exclaimed when he felt the marble hit him.

He looked down to see what had hit him and picked up the marble. Arnold looked back at Helga and narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell, Pataki?" he whispered to her.

Helga didn't respond; she only smirked.

"Arnold, is there something wrong?" Mr. Simmons asked.

Arnold turned to his teacher and shook his head. "No Mr. Simmons. I'm fine," he said.

When class let out, Arnold immediately went over to Helga and pulled her aside.

"Do you mind telling me why you shot _this_ at my head?" he asked, holding up the marble.

"What can I say football-head? The spitballs weren't getting your attention, so I decided to go with something harder."

Arnold sighed. Arguing with her wasn't going to get him anywhere. "Whatever, Helga."

"I'd like my marble back, if you don't mind," she said. Arnold tossed it to her and walked away.

Helga watched him go and smiled. Even after all this time and despite the fact that they were friends now, he still hadn't figured out why she insisted on tormenting him. Yes, keeping her reputation as a bully was part of it, but more than that, she simply wanted to provoke a reaction out of him, regardless of what form it took. The truth was that she picked on him for two reasons. First and foremost, it was to hide her feelings for him, but the second reason was so that he acknowledged her existence.

Arnold was right when he reasoned that her bullying was a cry for some sort of attention, but she wanted his in particular because she loved him and because, for the longest time, he seemed to do his best to ignore her. Her teasing and pranks served the purpose of hiding her love and yet, paradoxically, in her own twisted way, she showed how much she craved his attention through picking on him.

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><p>Helga went to her locker and met up with Phoebe. The Asian girl's expression was uncharacteristically serious.<p>

"What's on your mind Phoebe?" Helga asked.

"There's something very important I need to discuss with you," she said.

"What about?"

"It involves-"

Phoebe suddenly stopped in her tracks. Helga gave her a confused look at her silence.

"Phebs, what's wrong?"

"Helga?" a voice asked hesitantly.

Helga turned around to see Arnold looking at her anxiously.

"What are you doing here Arnold?" Helga asked.

"Well my locker is only two away from yours, but that's beside the point. I want to apologize."

"Apologize? For what?"

"For getting irate with you about the marble thing. I thought about it and I realized you were probably only doing it to seem like an effective bully to keep up your reputation and I shouldn't have gotten angry. I'm sorry. Are we still friends?"

He had an apprehensive look in his eyes, as if afraid she would say no.

Helga was even more confused now. "Of course we're still friends. Why would you feel the need to apologize over something that wasn't even a big deal?"

"Well I was just worried that-"

"Helga, we need to go over that issue now while we have time," Phoebe said.

"Oh. Alright Phoebe." Helga glanced at Arnold apologetically. "Sorry Arnold, but Phoebe and me need to talk about something important."

"Can't you talk about it here?" Arnold asked.

"I'm sorry Arnold, but this is a matter strictly between Helga and myself," Phoebe said.

Arnold's expression instantly deflated. "Oh. Okay then, I understand."

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><p>Phoebe and Helga went to the Library and ate their lunch quickly.<p>

"So what do we need to talk about that's so urgent, Phoebe?" Helga asked.

"Your relationship with Arnold," Phoebe said frankly.

"Where did this come from?"

"Helga, I'm not going to mince words with you. I know you're in love with him and I really think he's beginning to fall in love with you too."

"Oh come on Phoebe. Just because we're friends now doesn't mean that he's suddenly fallen for me. I usually trust in your deductions, but I think you're way off here."

"Hear me out Helga. Look at the time and effort he spent trying to get close to you. He was patient and persistent, building up a friendship with you over several months. He's gone out of his way to spend time with you and me at events that we go to and I know you and Arnold have spent time alone. Gerald even told me that Arnold has neglected their relationship in order to spend time with you. Even today, he apologized to you over something that, in your words, wasn't a big deal and when he wasn't the one who committed an offense. He apologized because of a completely normal reaction to your teasing, a reaction that he hardly ever has shown before. Why would he do that unless he was afraid that his response would somehow offend you or damage his relationship with you? I really think he loves you Helga."

Helga was silent for several seconds, digesting all that Phoebe had said.

"Phoebe, what you're saying makes perfect sense, but I just can't believe that Arnold really feels that way about me. Even though our relationship is better now, I just can't allow myself to entertain the possibility that he might actually…love me…"

"Why?" Phoebe asked.

"Because what if you're wrong? That's the question I always come back to. What if Arnold doesn't feel that way about me? If I allow myself to believe that he returns my feelings and I find out I'm wrong…I couldn't handle that. I'll have gotten my hopes up for nothing."

"I understand Helga. I'm telling you though, I truly feel that Arnold's heart belongs to you."

Helga smiled. "I know it does, a small part of it anyway. It also belongs to you, Gerald, his grandparents, every kid and adult in PS118, and throughout this city. That's how a heart like his is; but to say that Arnold's whole heart belongs to me, like mine does to him…I just don't think so."

Phoebe smiled at Helga sympathetically. "Well, look on the bright side. You are friends now and that's better than what you and he had before. Plus, you really don't have to pick on Arnold anymore."

"What do you mean?" Helga asked,

"You picked on him for so long so he would notice you, right? I don't think you have to worry about that anymore."

Helga smiled as well. "I guess you're right. I still think I'll bully him though, for appearances' sake. Let's go put our lunch boxes up before the bell rings."

"Alright."


	8. Blissful Suffering

Here's the eighth chapter, everyone. I had actually written this chapter a while ago, but because I was so busy with school and hadn't written chapter seven at the time, I couldn't upload it. I hope you like it. Read and Review.

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><p><strong>4.) Between the Lines<strong>

When he got home that afternoon, Arnold immediately locked himself in his room. Try as he might to ignore his discomfort, the day's events bothered him. There was no reason for him to be upset. Phoebe's request had been perfectly reasonable. After all, she and Helga had been best friends for almost as long as him and Gerald and it was understood that any information best friends confided to each other was to be a closely guarded secret. There were things Arnold knew about Gerald that no one else did and there were a few things about himself that only Gerald was privy to. He was sure that the same situation existed between Helga and Phoebe. They shared secrets with each other that nobody else knew, that nobody else was _supposed_ to know and whether Arnold liked it or not, "nobody" included him.

_There's no reason to be upset. If it's a secret between the two of them, I should respect that. But then… why do I feel so sad when I think about it? It makes perfect sense that Helga would discuss personal issues with the person she trusts the most._

There it was. That word.

_Trust..._

Suddenly, Arnold realized why it distressed him that Helga was keeping something from him. Whatever the information was, she only trusted Phoebe to know about it. That didn't mean that she had no trust in him, but she obviously didn't trust him _enough _to impart whatever secret she told Phoebe. He had worked so hard to earn her friendship and had naively assumed that it entailed a level of deeper trust between them as well. Now, he knew how wrong he was. Despite how close they had become, Arnold was still last on the very short list of people that Helga allowed herself to open up to. Phoebe came first, then Dr. Bliss, and then him, if he was lucky.

He thought back to when he had declared Helga _his _butterfly. She still was in his mind but as much as he enjoyed basking in that warm, kind, vulnerable side of her and as much as he wanted to keep it for himself, Arnold knew that he had no exclusive claim on Helga's inner self. Phoebe and Dr. Bliss had experienced that part of her far more than he had so they understood her better. He should've expected Helga to go to Phoebe with her burdens instead of him.

Helga still harassed him at school, but he didn't mind continuing to be her punching bag so to speak. In fact, Arnold took her abuse of him almost as a badge of honor now. Since Helga's bully act was at least in part for attention, the fact that she spent more time picking on him than anyone else meant that she must've been particularly eager for his attention and he was more than happy to give it.

_But if she wants my attention and she considers me a friend, why won't she let me in completely? I don't get it. Great, I finally make some real progress in trying to understand who Helga is, and then another roadblock gets in my way. Damn it Pataki, what are you hiding? Why do you insist on being so difficult? Are you TRYING to drive me nuts?_

Arnold sighed heavily and laughed to himself. If she wasn't tormenting him physically, Helga was torturing him mentally. She seemed to be determined to make him suffer, one way or another.

_Well, if it gets me closer to solving you Helga, I'll happily endure whatever I have to._


	9. She Hides, He Seeks

Hello readers. Here's the ninth chapter of Connected and the start of the fifth theme. I hope you enjoy it. Read & Review.

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><p><strong>5.) Battle of Wills<strong>

After spring break, Helga's attitude seemed to change. Before the break, she had calmed down and was less standoffish, largely a result of her friendship with Arnold. Now, it seemed that her aggressiveness had doubled and her temper was on a hair trigger. Everyone noticed the change and none more acutely than Phoebe and Arnold. Part of the reason that the two of them were so much more attuned to Helga's behavioral shift than others was because her manner toward them in particular had altered dramatically and in radically divergent ways.

Helga seemed to cling to Phoebe, spending more time with her than any of the other girls and her demeanor was depressed and hollow. Phoebe had asked Helga numerous times what was wrong, but all she would say was that she was going through personal issues. When asked, Helga denied that her "issues" had anything to do with Arnold.

The tomboy's behavior toward Arnold was the exact opposite of what it was with Phoebe. She went out of her way to avoid the football-headed boy and keep as much distance between them as possible, both physically and emotionally. The change was so sudden and drastic that Arnold initially feared that he had unknowingly done something to greatly upset her. When he tried to apologize for whatever offense he might have committed, Helga said that he had done nothing wrong.

Phoebe and Arnold talked about Helga's strange behavior and neither could think of anything that would've accounted for it. Gerald got roped into the problem as well since he had a close relationship with both Arnold and Phoebe. He didn't really care about Helga as much as his two friends but for their sake, he suggested asking her if there were any problems that she was having at home that might explain her abrupt change in demeanor.

Phoebe and Arnold differed in their approaches to the subject. Phoebe decided that if Helga didn't want to talk about her issues, she would respect her wishes and let the matter drop, keeping herself available in case Helga changed her mind. Arnold on the other hand, driven by desperation to repair the closeness between Helga and himself, decided that he would find out what was behind her attitude toward him and do whatever was in his power to help her through her "personal issues". Both Phoebe and Gerald warned Arnold about being pushy with Helga as it was likely to backfire and make her close herself off more. Arnold insisted that he needed to know why she was avoiding him and said that he truly wanted to help her with whatever problems she was having.

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><p>A week after spring break, Arnold went to work. On Monday, he sat with Helga at lunch. He planned to lead her into talking about her "personal problems" slowly, but his desire to find out why she had been avoiding him took control.<p>

"Helga, why have you been shunning me for the past week? Ever since spring break, you've gone out of your way to not be around me."

Helga sighed. "I'm just going through some things right now and I know your compunction to help anyone who has a problem. I don't want any help. I want to deal with the situation on my own."

"Well I understand that this is something private for you, so I'll step away if you want me to, for now. But could you at least tell me what the issue is?"

"No. It's a personal matter and I don't want anyone else involved."

Arnold sighed. "Just tell me this. We're still friends right? I just wanna be sure."

"Yes football-head, we're friends."

The two ate their lunch in tense silence. When they got through, they walked to their lockers and it was then that Arnold noticed that Helga had a rather large bandage on her shoulder.

"What happened to your shoulder Helga?"

"I cut it."

"On what?"

"I tripped and fell outside and landed on my shoulder."

"How does that cut your shoulder?"

"I landed on concrete."

"Oh…"

Arnold and Helga didn't speak much for the rest of the day, but Arnold continually glanced at her shoulder. Her story was strange but he had no reason to disbelieve her.

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><p>Throughout the rest of the month of March, Helga's injuries seemed to accumulate and her explanations for them became more and more suspicious. She came to school with her left arm bandaged, her knees gashed and bandaged, her face and arms bruised, and her lips cut. She became increasingly withdrawn and shut herself off from everyone but Phoebe. Arnold confronted her about her excuses but she never gave him a straight answer for her injuries and eventually, refused to talk about it altogether.<p>

Phoebe, Arnold and Gerald began to suspect that she was being abused. Even Mr. Simmons was growing concerned. He was contemplating calling authorities but Arnold asked him not to until they were sure about what was going on. Gerald didn't want to get into the middle of it but Phoebe and Arnold decided to confront her about it.

On Monday of the first week in April, Phoebe and Arnold pulled Helga aside after school let out.

"What's this about you two?" Helga asked.

"Helga, are there any problems at home?" Arnold asked.

"Of course there are. I've already told you about it."

"You know that's not what I mean."

"Helga, we think you're being physically abused. Your injuries are too frequent and too severe to ignore," Phoebe said.

Helga's voice seemed to fail her in that moment and her friends knew that their suspicions were correct.

"We're right aren't we? Who's doing it? Your dad?" Arnold asked.

"Why are you grilling me? I told you that I wanted to handle it on my own."

"Answer the question, Helga. Is your dad beating you?" Arnold said.

"…It's not beating…" Helga said softly.

"HELGA!" Arnold yelled, tired of her beating around the bush.

"Alright, alright! Yes, my dad is hitting me. Happy now?"

"Helga, we can't ignore this problem," Phoebe said. "We need to call the authorities."

Helga's expression turned to one of fear. "You can't!"

"Why the hell not?" Arnold asked.

"Because football-head, if you call the police, my dad will get arrested and since mom doesn't have a job, we'll have no source of income."

"Alright Helga, but you need to get out of this situation as soon as possible. I want you to promise that if things get bad, you'll come stay with me and my parents, okay?" Phoebe said.

"Okay. Thanks Phoebe," Helga said.

Arnold said nothing and the three got on the bus. While on the bus ride, Arnold kept glancing at Helga. He knew she was lying when she said that her family would have no source of income if her dad was put in jail because she told both him and Phoebe that her mother was perfectly capable of running the beeper emporium herself. Arnold guessed that Phoebe accepted the lie because she didn't want to pressure Helga.

_At least she'll have a place to go when things go south_ Arnold thought, trying to be optimistic, even though he knew it wouldn't really fix the problem.


	10. Reaching Out & Holding Back

Here's chapter 10. I wrote it a while ago and could only post it now because I finished writing chapter 9. Hope you like it and please review.

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><p><strong>5.) Battle of Wills<strong>

Throughout the week after Arnold and Phoebe confronted Helga about the abuse of her father, she came to school with injuries less frequently, but it was clear that the beatings hadn't stopped. On Saturday, Arnold was on his way to pick up an order from the meat market for his grandfather. He had an umbrella over his head and a coat on since it was raining fairly hard. He was just coming up on the Pataki residence when the door flew open and a figure ran out of the house and down the street as fast as it could go. The scene startled Arnold and it took him a few seconds to process what had happened. Once his brain caught up with his eyes, Arnold immediately dropped his umbrella and ran after the figure, knowing it could only be one person.

He had to push himself to catch up enough to see her. She ran in the direction of the park and eventually stopped under the cover of a large tree and leaned against the bark. Arnold stopped a few feet away to catch his breath. Once his body had recovered from the run, he started to approach her, but a sound stopped him in his tracks. She was crying, sobbing in fact and hugging herself. Something was very wrong and Arnold had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what it was.

He walked over to her slowly and as quietly as he could so as not to startle her. He stopped when he was barely under the cover of the tree branches. The rain had pelted him and he was soaked but he didn't care. Hesitantly, Arnold called her name.

"Helga?"

She gasped and turned to him, her eyes wide and filled with fear. Arnold nearly gasped when he saw her face. Her right cheek was bruised and her right eye was black and swollen. His fears had been confirmed in that moment. Helga, seeing his startled expression, covered up her eye in a futile attempt to hide the injury. Arnold walked up to her and gently removed her hand from her eye.

"Helga…did your dad do this to you?" he asked.

Helga's fear-stricken expression returned and that was all the confirmation Arnold needed.

"Why are you letting him treat you this way? You know it's not right."

Helga scowled at Arnold. "Right or wrong, it's none of your business, football head."

"The second Bob put his hands on you, it **became **my business," Arnold said.

"Well, I never asked for your intervention. Besides, what do you care?" Helga asked bitterly.

"I care because you're my friend! I thought you knew that."

"Like I told you before, there's nothing you can do so you might as well just go home."

"Not a chance. What's happened to you? The Helga I know would never let anyone, not even her own father, push her around."

"I guess you don't know me as well as you think you do." The bitterness had returned in her voice.

Arnold was silent for a moment before answering. "You know what? You're right. I was wrong about you. That tough girl act you put on for all these years was just a charade. You're nothing but a weak, spineless, pathetic, scared little girl."

Helga's eyes narrowed and she grabbed Arnold's shirt, pulling him nose to nose with her. "I could beat you to a bloody pulp right now!"

"I know you could. So why are you letting your dad do the same to you?"

Helga let go of him and looked down at the ground.

"Because I don't have any other choice," she said softly, her tone defeated.

"What are you talking about? Call the police or CPS and they'll stop it."

"You don't get it Arnoldo! If I call the police, Big Bob will be arrested and thrown in jail and Mariam is so chronically drunk so she can deal with Bob's abuse that she can't even take care of herself now, let alone me. I'd be placed in foster care in some strange town and probably never have any kind of normal life again!"

"Why don't you ask Phoebe if you can move in with her until your parents work out their issues? I'm sure she'd let you."

"I can't ask her parents to take on the burden of supporting me," Helga said.

"They wouldn't consider it a burden if they knew your situation," Arnold said.

"Yeah, but they'd still have to pay extra expenses because I'm there and besides, the family has different customs, and I wouldn't want to have to adapt to a new style of living."

"Well…what if you came to live with me in the boarding house?" Arnold asked. Before she could answer, he kept going. "You wouldn't be a hardship on us because everyone pays their own rent and I know Grandma and Grandpa would be okay with it after I explained your circumstances. You could stay in my room."

Helga shook her head immediately. "I can't."

"Why not?" Arnold asked.

"I just can't."

"Helga, you can't keep living like this! The violence is only going to get worse if you don't do something."

"I can handle it," she said, though there was no confidence in her voice.

Arnold glared at her. "Don't be stupid! I saw you run out of your house, probably crying. You try to handle this yourself and you'll end up in the hospital or worse, in the morgue! I don't want that to happen, especially when I can do something to prevent it."

Helga glared right back at him. "I told you to butt out of my family problems! It's my crisis, I'll deal with it!"

Arnold's frustration had nearly reached its peak and he had to use all his self-control to keep from literally slapping some sense into her. Instead, he grabbed her shoulders forcefully, but not enough to cause her pain.

"Damn it Helga, don't you get it? I **care** about you and I wanna help you so why won't you let me?" He asked through gritted teeth.

His actions surprised Helga, but her anger quickly returned. "You wouldn't understand."

"Then _help_ me understand," he said desperately.

"Just leave me alone!"

Helga pushed him in the chest as hard as she could. Arnold fell back on the ground with a thud. She took off running, not caring if he followed or not. She just wanted to get away; away from her house, away from her problems, away from any questions; away from _him. _

_I'm sorry Arnold…_

* * *

><p>From that day forward until the end of the school year, Arnold and Helga didn't speak to each other. Helga didn't bully him anymore either. It wasn't until the first weekend of summer break that the two met up outside of school.<p>

Arnold was just getting ready to leave the house to go play baseball with the guys when he heard someone knocking at the door. Assuming it was Gerald, he was shocked to find Helga standing there instead.

"Helga, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"…can we talk?" she asked softly, looking at him pleadingly.

Arnold stared at her in surprise, never having seen her so timid. "…Sure."

Arnold closed the door behind him and sat down with Helga on the porch, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm sorry…" she said suddenly, looking truly apologetic.

"About what?" he asked, taken aback.

"That day when you followed me to the park; pushing you down and screaming at you. I'm sorry."

"…Thanks, Helga. But I notice you didn't come to school with anymore bruises or black eyes since then. What happened?"

"I ran to Phoebe's house after I ditched you. She called Olga and Olga called the police. Dad was arrested and he's in jail now for child abuse charges and Mariam checked herself into rehab. She'll be there for the next four months."

"Who have you been staying with?"

"Phoebe through the rest of April, and Olga since just last week. She's taken a leave of absence from teaching but she has to go back to Alaska in a week to keep her job. School doesn't let out there until June."

"Then what will you do?"

"I don't know. Staying with Phoebe for the whole summer wouldn't be fair and I can't just stay in an empty house. I'm effectively homeless until the state decides to place me in the foster system."

Arnold looked at her sadly. This shouldn't have been happening to her.

"What about you Arnold? I heard you're taking a plane to San Lorenzo on Monday."

"Yeah. I found a map of the last path my parents took before they disappeared, so I'm going to look for them."

"You're not thinking of taking on that big a task alone are you?"

"Of course not. Gerald, my grandparents and the other kids are going with me."

Helga looked at Arnold in surprise. "How'd you manage to sucker all the other kids in the class into following you on this expedition?"

"Well, not _all _of them. Nadine, Rhonda, Harold, Sid and Stinky are going. And I didn't sucker them into it. To be honest, I didn't really plan on any of them going. Nadine wanted to go because of the chance to study all the bugs in the jungles and she got Rhonda to agree to come. Harold said he wanted to go because there was nothing to do in Hillwood, and once Sid and Stinky found out Harold was going, they tagged along."

"You know Harold was lying, right?" Helga said.

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked.

"He wanted to go because Rhonda was going. It's obvious they like each other."

"I see…"

Helga hesitated before speaking again. "Hey Arnold, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Well, um…would it be okay if I joined the party?"

Arnold gave her a confused look. "Why?"

"It beats staying here and having no place to go. Besides, I think you're entitled to have your real parents in your life and I want to help you do that."

Arnold's eyes narrowed. "So let me get this straight. You wouldn't **let** me come to your aid when you needed it most, which you _still _haven't given a reason for by the way, and yet you're inexplicably willing to help me when I need it most and risk your life in the process? How does that work?"

"I'm your friend. Isn't this what friends do for each other?" Helga asked.

"Oh, you're my friend? That's funny, cause none of my _friends _ever gave me a month-long silent treatment. My _friends_ aren't so stubborn as to not admit when they obviously need help. My _friends_ trust me enough to know that I have their best interest at heart. If you're my friend, you have a weird way of showing it."

Helga looked down, ashamed of her foolish conduct. "So I guess that means you don't consider me a friend anymore, huh? Can't say I blame you."

Arnold sighed in exasperation. "Helga, why did you act that way?"

"Because I was scared," she answered not looking at him.

"Scared? Scared of what?"

"A lot of things…"

"Will you stop being so cryptic? What could you have to be scared of in the boarding house?"

"Myself, for one," she muttered.

"What? I don't understand."

"Look, I can't tell you everything, alright? I was scared, let's just leave it at that."

Arnold sighed again. "So, you wanna go to San Lorenzo with me?" he asked.

Helga finally looked up at him. "If it's okay with you."

"Alright, but if you go, there's one stipulation you have to meet."

"What's that?"

Arnold cupped her face with his hands and stared right into her eyes. "If your mom or sister isn't around to take care of you, the day we get back to Hillwood, you move in with me. I don't care what objections, misgivings or excuses you have. If there's no one to take care of you at your house, you move in with me. Understand?"

"But-"

"No buts. When we get back, you're going to live with me." He smiled at her. "After all, we're friends, aren't we? This is what friends do for each other. Please, let me help you…"

She smiled back. "Thanks, Arnold…"

"Don't mention it." He picked up his bat. "I'm going to play baseball with the guys. You want to come?"

"Alright, but don't expect me to go easy on you, football head!" She said, smirking at him.

Arnold's smile grew. "I wouldn't want it any other way."


	11. Messiah & Goddess

Hi everyone. I finally finished Chapter 11. I should tell you, the sixth theme in this story, San Lorenzo, has three chapters to it instead of the usual two and they are from a neutral POV rather than either Arnold's or Helga's. I hope you enjoy my version of what would be "The Jungle Movie". Read & Review.

* * *

><p><strong>6.) San Lorenzo<strong>

The day before heading to San Lorenzo, two more people joined Arnold's group. Olga and Phoebe had insisted on going along once they found out that Helga was going. She reluctantly agreed. Eduardo had come to Hillwood to fly them to San Lorenzo personally and visited the boarding house to tell Arnold and his grandparents when they would be leaving. Arnold wanted to ask Eduardo about his parents but Phil and Gertrude insisted that he rest for the trip. Arnold called the other kids to tell them when to meet up at the boarding house.

Helga planned on staying at Phoebe's for the night, but Arnold asked her to stay at the boarding house instead, saying that since she was going to be living there, it would be a good thing to familiarize herself with the layout of the building. What Arnold didn't know was that Helga had broken into the boarding house on seven previous occasions so she knew the building almost as well as he did. Still, to humor him, Helga let Arnold give her a tour of the place and introduce her to the apartment's inhabitants.

Arnold offered to let Helga sleep with him in his bed, but Helga had brought a sleeping bag and said she would be fine in it. Arnold said the offer was always on the table in case she changed her mind since as long as she lived there, Arnold's room was her room as well.

* * *

><p>In the morning, Arnold, his grandparents, Helga, Gerald, Phoebe, Olga, Rhonda, Nadine, Harold, Sid and Stinky all met up at the steps of the boarding house and when Eduardo arrived, they went to a field outside the city where Eduardo's plane was parked. There was barely enough room for everyone but the group managed to squeeze in. As soon as the plane took off, Arnold couldn't hold in his curiosity anymore.<p>

"Eduardo, I have to know. Are my parents alive?" he asked.

After a pause, Eduardo answered, "Yes, they're alive."

Phil breathed a sigh of relief at this information.

"Where are they? What happened to them?"

"Their plane crashed on their last mission and was unsalvageable. The remaining Green Eyes took them in and Miles and Stella went to work on finding a cure for the disease that was afflicting the tribe."

"Did they come up with one?" Arnold asked.

"Yes but unfortunately, with the Green Eyes under constant threat of attack by La Sombra and his band of river pirates and with no way to return home, Miles and Stella ultimately decided to stay within the Green Eyes' village and help protect the sacred jewel of the tribe, La Corazon from falling into La Sombra's hands."

"So that's why they never came back…" Arnold said softly.

"Are you okay, man?" Gerald asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I can't wait to see what kind of specimens I'll find in San Lorenzo's jungles!" Nadine said.

"Nadine, please. This trip is about finding Arnold's parents, not trompsing through the woods looking for bugs," Rhonda said.

"I know, but after we find his parents, couldn't we take some time to explore?"

Rhonda sighed. "Alright, fine, if it's okay with Arnold."

"I don't mind, guys," Arnold said.

"How big is this jungle anyway?" Helga asked.

"Well, there are several jungles within San Lorenzo but the one we're going to is about 100 acres," Eduardo said.

"WHAT? How are we supposed to find our way through all that?" Harold asked.

"Don't worry, we're only going to the edge of the southwestern portion of the jungle. The village is on the other side of a large river so it's quite isolated."

"So let me see if I've got this straight," Sid said. "We're just gonna touch down, find the village, find Arnold's parents and then go back to Hillwood, right?"

"That's the plan, although truthfully, almost nothing ever goes as planned where Miles and Stella are concerned. They seem to have incredibly bad luck," Eduardo said.

Arnold was silent throughout the rest of the flight and no one else talked much either. The flight took about four hours. They landed in a large clearing close to the village. When Eduardo was unloading their supplies from the back of the plane, Curly came tumbling out.

"Curly? What in the world are you doing here?" Rhonda asked.

"I couldn't pass up the chance to let my wild side run free in the jungles of San Lorenzo!" he declared.

"What a freak," Helga muttered.

Once everyone (except Curly) had their pack on, Eduardo led the way through the thickets and eventually, the group came to the entrance of the village of the Green-Eyed people. Huts of various sizes lined the path, each with the symbol of the Green Eyes over the entrance.

"Miles and Stella are at the Elder's hut," Eduardo said.

He led them to the biggest hut in the village and stopped just outside the entrance before turning to the group. "Arnold and his grandparents are the only ones allowed inside since they're the only ones with a connection to Miles and Stella."

Arnold and his grandparents walked into the hut and saw Miles and Stella sitting on the floor. Arnold couldn't help but gasp in shock, not having seen his parents in six years. Miles and Stella turned and were rendered momentarily speechless upon seeing their son.

"Arnold?" Stella said, standing up.

Arnold didn't speak. Tears filling his eyes, he ran to his mother, enveloping her in a hug. Stella returned the hug.

"I missed you, Arnold," she said softly.

"We both did," Miles said. "I missed you too dad," he said, turning to Phil.

"It's good to see you again Miles," Phil said.

"But what are you doing here?" Stella asked Phil and Gertrude.

"Arnold couldn't wait anymore to find his mom and dad," Gertrude said.

Stella smiled at her son. "I see…"

"Eduardo told me that your plane crashed and that's why you didn't come back," Arnold said.

"He was right about our plane crashing, but there's something he didn't tell you," Miles said.

"What's that?" Arnold asked.

"We could've come back to Hillwood when a cure for the disease that was affecting the Green Eyes was found," Stella said. "Eduardo could've taken us back but we chose to stay here."

"Why? You knew how much Arnold missed you two." Phil said.

"It was because of the Green Eyes. La Sombra is constantly trying to steal the sacred treasure of the people called La Corazon," Miles said.

"We felt like we had to stay and help them protect it. They depend on us and have done a lot for us," Stella said. She looked at Arnold. "Do you understand Arnold?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I understand."

Suddenly, a member of the tribe burst into the hut, gesturing and speaking fast in his native tongue.

"What's he saying?" Gertrude asked.

"I can't understand him when he's speaking so fast," Stella said.

Miles went over to the man and told him to calm down. Eventually, the man's speech slowed enough for Stella to understand what he was saying.

"He's saying that there's danger in the sacred temple. The one near this village," Stella said.

"What's the danger?" Miles asked the man.

"La Corazon…" he said.

"What about La Corazon?" Miles asked.

"La Sombra…found temple…"

"La Sombra's found the temple? Oh no…" Stella said.

"We have to get over there," Miles said.

"Right," his wife said.

Miles and Stella ran out of the hut along with the Green Eye. Arnold and his grandparents walked out and were immediately assailed with questions.

"Were those your parents?" Sid asked.

"Who was that weird-looking man?" Rhonda asked.

"Where are they all going?" Gerald asked.

"Arnoldo, what's going on?" Helga asked.

"Calm down everyone, one at a time," Phil said.

"In order," Arnold started. "Yes, those were my parents, the man was a member of the Green Eyed people, and to answer Gerald and Helga's questions at once, they're all going to the temple where La Corazon is kept because a pirate named La Sombra is trying to steal it and I'm going with them."

"Wait a minute Arnold, this could be really dangerous," Gertrude said.

"La Sombra's the whole reason my parents are still stuck here. I have to help them."

Arnold ran in the direction his parents went, hoping to catch up with them. Gerald and Helga looked at each other and nodded in silent understanding. The two may have had their differences, but Arnold was their friend and they were determined to be there for him. They ran after him.

"What are you two doing?" Arnold asked them once they caught up with him.

"Did you really think we would let you go at this alone?" Helga asked, smirking.

"She's right. We're your friends and friends stick together," Gerald said.

Arnold smiled at both of them. "Thanks guys," he said.

Phoebe and Olga ran after Helga and soon the whole group was going after Miles and Stella, with Eduardo leading the way. Once they arrived at the temple, they found the Green Eyes and Arnold's parents facing off against a group of men with swords.

"Give me La Corazon," the leader said.

"Forget it. This jewel belongs to the Green Eyes!" Miles said.

"Go back where you came from La Sombra and leave these people alone!" Stella said.

"I will not rest until La Corazon is mine and if you won't give it to me willingly, I shall take it by force!" La Sombra said.

The men raised their swords to Arnold's parents and the Green Eyes.

"We have to do something!" Arnold said.

"No one raises a blade to _my _son and daughter in law!" Gertrude said, glaring at the pirates.

"Pookie, don't do anything crazy," Phil said.

Gertrude looked at her husband and smirked. "I was born crazy!"

She ran toward the group of pirates. She did a front handspring before jumping into air and kicking one of the men in the back of the head, knocking him down. Using the group's momentarily confusion to her advantage, she karate chopped the pirate on her immediate left, in the face, before kicking him in the stomach, knocking him down. Turning around, she saw the pirate on her right in shock, so she took the opportunity to take his sword away.

"Anyone else want a piece of this?" she asked defiantly, brandishing her stolen sword.

Everyone was staring at Gertrude in shock. Helga smiled, impressed with the elderly woman's spunk.

"Well, if she's not afraid to get in on the action, I might as well enter the fray," Helga said.

She got a running start before doing a front flip and two subsequent back handsprings. She turned around and jump kicked the nearest pirate in the chest, knocking him back. Helga then ran up and pulled him down by his shawl before socking him in the face with Old Betsy. He nose and mouth were bleeding from the hit. Helga turned to her right and ran at the pirate next to the one she just attacked, doing a flying kick to his stomach, making the pirate double over in pain.

Arnold watched the whole scene in disbelief.

_Wow, I had no idea Helga or Grandma could fight like that. I know some strong females._

"You fools! Are you going to let an old woman and a little girl get the best of you? Fight back!" La Sombra said to his men.

"Uh oh, I'd better get over there and help Pookie," Phil said.

"And I should help Helga," Arnold said.

"Why? They seem to be doing just fine on their own," Gerald said. "Even the Green Eyes and your parents are fighting now."

Arnold ignored him and ran toward Helga. Gerald sighed in exasperation. "Man, you are crazy," he said before running after his friend.

Helga was dodging sword blows from one of the pirates when suddenly Arnold got in front of her and started delivering lighting fast punches to his stomach. Once the pirate was stunned, Arnold executed two chops to his face in quick succession, knocking him down and rendering him unconscious.

Helga smiled at her beloved. "Wow football head, I didn't know you had it in you," she said.

Arnold turned to her and smiled back. "I learned from my grandma," he said. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Jujitsu classes," she said simply.

"Excuse me you two, but we still have a situation here," Gerald said, just before jumping out of the way of a sword swipe.

The two nodded and went to helping Gerald.

Gertrude was locked in a sword clash when Phil came up behind her opponent and kneed him in the back.

"I want some of this!" Curly said before running toward the group.

Things were chaotic but Arnold's family and friends seemed to have the upper hand until La Sombra himself joined the fight. He quickly took out the Green Eyed warriors and then advanced on Arnold's parents. La Sombra's participation gave his men a morale boost and they soon subdued Arnold's grandparents as well.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Arnold called out.

"We can't help them now," Helga said.

"Now, give me La Corazon!" La Sombra demanded.

Miles looked at Arnold and then at the stone, covered in a brown cloth.

"Arnold!" he called out.

Arnold looked toward his dad and then Miles threw the jewel to his son, who caught it in both hands.

"Take La Corazon and run!" Miles shouted.

Arnold nodded and ran towards the thickets, with the other kids running after him.

"After them!" La Sombra commanded.

Five of his henchmen followed the group. Olga tried to run, but she too was captured.

"Tie up the family members," La Sombra said to his remaining men. "Those kids won't get far."

* * *

><p>The kids were running in a straight path through the thick grass with only their acceleration to keep them going. The five pirate henchmen weren't far behind.<p>

"We need to separate," Phoebe said suddenly.

"Why?" Gerald asked.

"With all five of those men chasing us at once, one of them is bound to catch up to us eventually. We stand a better chance of eluding them if we split up," Phoebe explained.

"Alright. But how will we split up?" Arnold asked.

"Nadine and I will stay together," Rhonda said.

"Me, Harold and Stinky will stick together," Sid said.

"Curly, what about you?" Arnold asked.

"I work alone," he said.

"Phoebe, will you and Helga go off on your own?" Arnold asked.

"No, I think we'll stay with you and Gerald. Since you have what the pirates are after, it would be better if the four of us were together. Strength in numbers and all that."

"Okay, we know the plan. At the next clearing, we separate," Arnold said to the group.

"Got it," Harold and Rhonda said simultaneously.

At the next opening in the brush, they did just that. Curly went northwest, Nadine and Rhonda went East while Harold, Stinky and Sid went southwest. Arnold, Helga, Gerald and Phoebe went straight north. Three of the five pirates went after the other kids, one in each direction, leaving two chasing after Arnold's group.

"Well, look on the bright side. At least now we only have two pirates chasing us instead of five," Gerald said.

"Yeah, if you can call two ruthless grown men armed with swords trying to kill us a bright side," Helga said sarcastically.

"Girl, will you stop being pessimistic for once in your life?" Gerald asked, annoyance in his tone.

"Actually Gerald, I think Helga might have a reason to be pessimistic this time. We can't fight the pirates while we have La Corazon in our possession," Arnold said.

"Why not?" Helga asked.

"Because in order to fight them effectively, we would have to leave the jewel unprotected and the pirates could steal it in the chaos," Phoebe said.

"I hope the others are okay," Arnold said.

* * *

><p>Rhonda and Nadine were continuing to try to lose their pursuer but with no luck.<p>

"Rhonda, I have an idea," Nadine said.

"I'm up for anything at this point. What is it?"

"Many bugs avoid predators by blending in with their environment."

"Nadine, I don't think your encyclopedic knowledge of insects is going to be able to help us out of this."

"No, I'm saying we can camouflage ourselves in the grass. At the next bend in the path, we hunker down in the grass and keep completely still. If we're lucky, he should pass right by us."

"I hope this works, Nadine," Rhonda said.

The two kept running until there was a bend in the road and sprinted around it before heading into the grass. They crouched down as low as possible and kept still and quiet. As Nadine hoped, the pirate ran past their hiding place. Once they thought he was far enough way, they came out.

"Now what?" Nadine asked.

"We need to find the others," Rhonda said.

"But who do we look for first?"

"I say we go try to find Harold, Stinky and Sid. Arnold, Gerald, Helga and Phoebe can handle themselves and Curly is completely crazy."

"Alright. Let's go."

* * *

><p>Curly eventually came across a gap with a mud pit below. He saw a vine hanging from a nearby tree and smiled. Breaking into a sprint, Curly jumped and grabbed the vine, swinging clean across and jumping to the other side. He took off running, laughing to himself. When the vine came back, Curly's pirate pursuer attempted to swing across the gap but his weight made the vine snap and he fell into the mud pit.<p>

* * *

><p>Arnold and his group continued to run until they came across another clearing. The reason they stopped was because two leopards were sleeping in the clearing.<p>

"What do we do now?" Helga whispered.

"As soon as those pirates catch up to us, those leopards are gonna wake up," Gerald said.

"And then we're screwed. If we're not chopped up by the pirates, we'll be eaten by the leopards," Helga said.

The pirates came into the clearing at that moment.

"Give us La Corazon, you little brats!" one of them said.

"No way!" Arnold said.

"Then die!" the other said.

"Um, guys, you might want to quiet down," Gerald said.

"Why is that?"

The growl of the leopards from behind silenced all of them. Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe and Helga turned around to see the two big cats advancing on them.

"I know it's incredibly cheesy to pull the 'I'm too young to die' line, but seriously, I'm only ten!" Helga said.

"We're not going to die," Arnold said.

"Not if I can help it," Phoebe muttered. She turned to her friends. "We must be close to the leopard's territory. The good news is that these leopards see the pirates as just as much of a threat as us. The bad news is, they'll attack the first thing they can get their paws on."

"So what do you suggest?" Helga asked.

"This is gonna be really risky, but since they're already coming at us, if we can get the leopards to focus on the pirates instead, we can make it out of here. We need to run at the pirates. The leopards are gonna chase us, and if we split up at the last second, the leopards should attack the pirates instead of us."

"You're right; that is risky, but it looks like we don't have any other choice," Gerald said.

They turned to their pursuers and ran at them as fast as they could and of course, the leopards chased after them. Just as the leopards were about to pounce, they split into four different directions so the leopards attacked the pirates instead of their intended targets.

"It worked!" Gerald said.

"Great, now let's get the hell out of here!" Helga said.

"I agree," Arnold said.

* * *

><p>The four continued to move through the jungle thickets, not really knowing where they were going.<p>

"Where exactly are we going? We seem to just be wondering around aimlessly," Helga said.

"Helga's got a point. Have you looked at that map yet Arnold?" Gerald asked.

"Well, to be honest, the map isn't very detailed and I wasn't looking at it because I was trying to think of how we can save my parents and grandparents while keeping this jewel safe," Arnold said, looking down at the wrapping that held La Corazon.

"Don't forget my sister Arnoldo," Helga reminded him.

"Right, her too," he said.

Eventually, they came out of the thickets and emerged near a temple. Like the other buildings, the Green Eye symbol was above the entrance.

"We might as well see what's inside," Helga said.

"Yeah. Maybe we'll find someone who can help us," Arnold said.

They went into the temple and descended a few stairs before coming to a large room. The symbol of the Green Eyed people was inscribed on the floor and there were four members of the tribe sitting near the back wall.

"Um, hello," Arnold said.

The four tribesmen looked at the group and upon seeing Arnold, they rushed over and began bowing.

"What the heck are they doing?" Helga asked.

"It seems like they're worshipping you, Arnold," Phoebe said.

"Worshipping me? Why?"

The men rose and led Arnold over to the back wall. Several drawings were carved in. The first depicted a volcano erupting. The second showed a drawing of him as an infant with the volcano suddenly silent. The third drawing showed La Sombra and La Corazon and the fourth showed an older Arnold in warrior's armor facing off against La Sombra and other pirates.

"What does all this mean?" Arnold asked, more to himself than anyone else.

"From what I gather, these drawings depict some sort of prophecy concerning you," Phoebe said.

"The first two drawings describe exactly what my dad wrote in his journal. He said that when I was born, the volcano that had been erupting suddenly stopped."

"Really?" Gerald asked.

"Yeah. The Green Eyes thought I was a miracle baby."

"Well, I guess that explains why they were bowing earlier," Helga said.

"But what about the last two drawings? What do they mean?" Gerald asked.

"It looks like Arnold is supposed to fight off the river pirates and stop them from stealing the Green Eyed people's sacred treasure," Phoebe said.

"La Corazon," Arnold said softly.

"So Arnold is some kind of messiah to these people?" Helga asked.

"It appears so," Phoebe said.

"Wait a minute. If this wall shows how I was born…" Arnold trailed off and looked at the Green Eyes. "Was I born in this temple?" he asked them.

The men nodded.

"Wow. So you were born in here, in San Lorenzo?" Gerald asked.

"Yeah. According to the journal, the Green Eyes provided this temple to my parents since there were no hospitals nearby…my parents!"

Arnold turned to the Green Eyes again, this time with fear on his face. "My parents, Miles and Stella, the people who've helped you, have been captured. Taken by him," Arnold said, pointing to the picture of La Sombra.

The men recognized the names of Arnold's parents and upon looking at the drawing Arnold pointed to, picked up their spears, understanding what Arnold meant.

"It looks like they want to help rescue your parents," Gerald said.

"Well then, let's go save them," Helga said.

The group ran out of the temple, only to be stopped in their tracks upon seeing La Sombra and six other pirates.

"We must have really rotten luck," Helga said.

"Well, it appears you have nowhere to run," La Sombra said. "So, I leave you with two choices. Give me La Corazon, or this temple will be your gravesite."

"Well football head, how are we going to get out of this one?" Helga asked.

"We're going to fight our way out," Arnold said, glaring at La Sombra. He turned to the Green Eyes and gave La Corazon to one of them. "Keep this safe. Go inside while we take care of them."

The Green Eyes went back into the temple, leaving the four kids on their own.

"Arnold, are you nuts? There are seven of those guys and they have swords. How are the four of us supposed to fight them off?" Gerald asked.

"We've gotten out of similar situations before."

"Football head, this is no time to be playing the optimist! Tall hair boy is actually right for once. We don't have the element of surprise on our side this time, and we don't have your family to help us."

"I'm afraid I must concur with Gerald and Helga. Our situation is rather bleak," Phoebe said.

"We can do this, guys. We have to, for my parents' sake. We have to keep La Corazon safe from La Sombra."

Helga sighed in frustration and resignation. _The things I do for this boy…_

She turned to Phoebe with a serious expression on her face. "Phoebe, go inside the temple with the Green Eyes. No offense, but you're a thinker, not a fighter. You'll be safer there."

Phoebe nodded in understanding and went inside.

Arnold smiled at Helga's selfless act. _There she is again. My butterfly._

Focusing back on the task at hand, Arnold turned to the pirates.

"So, you've decided to resist? Admirable, but foolish," La Sombra said. Stepping back, he addressed his henchman. "I trust that you'll be able to retrieve the stone."

The other pirates nodded and La Sombra turned and walked away. The men turned to face Arnold, Gerald and Helga.

"We have to keep this fight away from the temple entrance, so the pirates don't have a chance to steal La Corazon," Arnold said.

"In that case, we should each take on two pirates so that they're separated and occupied," Helga said.

"Good idea. How do we split up?"

"I'll take the two on the left, tall hair boy can take the two on the right and you handle the two in front of you."

"Got it," Arnold said.

"I know how to get them separated," Gerald said.

"How?" Arnold asked.

"Just watch."

Gerald nonchalantly walked up to the two pirates on the right. "Hey guys, I know a secret about La Corazon. Would you like to hear it?"

The two pirates looked at each other, wary of the boy's invitation. Deciding to take a chance, they lowered their weapons and Gerald indicated for them to bend down.

"The secret is…" He took a deep breath and blew a raspberry in their faces before taking off as fast as he could. The pirates followed just as Gerald had planned.

"Wow. He's got more guts than I thought," Helga said.

Helga turned to her targets. She ran up and kicked one in the leg before jump kicking the other in the stomach. She too ran away and the pirates followed.

Arnold got into a karate stance and slowly walked up to his opponents. Unlike his friends, he wanted the pirates to make the first move so he gestured for them to come to him. They smirked and the pirate on his left swung his sword vertically at Arnold. Arnold jumped back and dodged the swing. The pirate to his right took a horizontal swipe at him, which Arnold again dodged.

_Good. Now that I have them going, I just have to move so I can hit them from the side and the back _Arnold thought.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to Arnold, Helga was taking a similar approach, dodging the sword attacks of the pirates and then hitting them in vulnerable areas. Unfortunately, Helga had underestimated their resilience and her blows were being shrugged off.<p>

_It looks like I'm gonna have to go for a frontal attack._

She did a back handspring to get some distance between herself and her opponents.

_If I can manage to avoid their swings, I can move in quickly for a good punch or a jump kick. But I have to take them one at a time._

She waited for one of them to make a move. The pirate to her right swung at her diagonally and she dodged the blow with another back handspring. Moving to his side, Helga gave him a kick that made him stumble back but he quickly recovered and ran at her, swinging his sword down horizontally. Helga jumped and avoided the hit, and then as soon as she landed, she swung her left fist upward into her opponent's stomach with as much force as she could muster. The blow had the desired effect and the pirate doubled over in pain. Helga took her chance and karate chopped the back of his neck, knocking him out.

_One down, one to go._

* * *

><p>Gerald was still running from his two opponents when he spotted a tree with a long, thick jutting branch. He smiled. Gerald may not have possessed the martial arts skills of Arnold and Helga, but what he lacked in fighting prowess, he made up for in flexibility.<p>

Gerald jumped and grabbed the branch and immediately began swinging back and forth on it. Once he had enough momentum, he swung up and over just as the pirates were going under the branch. Seeing an opportunity, Gerald kept going until he was behind the pirates and kicked the second one in the back, which caused him to crash into his comrade, sending them both to the ground. Gerald swung back up and landed on the branch, smiling to himself.

* * *

><p>Arnold had managed to knock one of his opponents out with a series of fast chops to the forehead and now both he and Helga only had one pirate to fight. Both pirates were fighting harder and faster than before, making it more difficult to attack them. Eventually, the pirates drove the two toward each other.<p>

"Hey Arnold, what do you say we work together to take these guys down?" Helga asked upon seeing him.

"Sounds good," he answered.

They went next to each other and faced their foes.

"So, how do we go about defeating these goons?" Helga asked.

"I usually just use my hands to fight but you can use your hands and feet equally well," Arnold said,

"What's your point?"

"I'm saying that even though our styles are different, we can use them so that they complement each other."

"So you're suggesting we fight each pirate together instead of going one on one?"

"Exactly."

"It's worth a shot. Get ready, here they come."

The pirates ran at Arnold and Helga, swinging their swords at the same time. Likewise, Arnold and Helga did synchronous back handsprings, dodging the attacks.

"Take the right one first. He's closer," Arnold said.

"Got'cha."

Helga jumped into the air and aimed a flying kick at her target but he blocked her foot with his sword. Helga immediately kicked off the sword and did a backflip, landing on her feet. Arnold seized his opportunity and punched the pirate in his stomach before delivering an uppercut to his chin, knocking him off his feet and sending him head first to the ground. The force of the impact to his head knocked him out.

Without missing a beat, Helga charged at the second pirate, intending to give him a taste of Old Betsy but he noticed her coming and readied his sword. Helga's momentum made it so she couldn't stop in time so she ran to the side to avoid being hit.

Arnold picked up the sword from the pirate they just defeated and engaged the one still standing. His aim wasn't to actually swordfight, but to occupy the pirate and give Helga a chance to catch him off guard. Helga took the hint and ran up behind him. She punched the pirate in his back, breaking his concentration and allowing Arnold to knock his sword out of his hand. Flipping the blade around to the blunt side, Arnold wacked the pirate in his chest, sending him toward Helga, who pushed him over.

Helga walked over to his head and bent down.

"What are you doing?" Arnold asked.

"Taking care of business," she answered.

She pinched the side of the man's neck, rendering him unconscious instantly.

"What did you do to him?" Arnold asked.

"I knocked him out using a pressure point on his neck," Helga explained.

"Wow…" he said softly.

"Come on, we'd better see if tall hair boy is alright."

No sooner did she finish her sentence than Gerald came running up to them.

"Gerald, you're safe!" Arnold said happily.

"Yeah. Managed to take care of those two pirates by knocking them into a tree trunk," Gerald said.

The four Green Eyes and Phoebe came out of the temple. The men went up to Helga and bowed to her.

"Okay, what are they bowing about now?" Helga asked.

"We saw most of your fight from inside the temple and it seems that the Green Eyed people are quite impressed with your strength Helga," Phoebe said.

"I guess in their culture, girls aren't fighters," Gerald said.

"Yes. The Green Eyes see Helga as a goddess of battle, similar to the Greek goddess of war, Athena," Phoebe said.

"It's great that she won their respect and all, but what are we gonna do about that jewel the pirates are after?" Gerald asked.

Arnold had been thinking about that very same question and he had come up with what he hoped was a good solution.

"Gerald, I want you to take the Green Eyes with you and find a safe place for La Corazon," he said.

"Why me though?"

"Because you're my best friend and I trust you to take care of it."

"Well…alright man. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't. And uh…" Arnold moved closer to Gerald and placed his mouth next to Gerald's right ear. "Between you and me, the other reason I picked you to take La Corazon is because…I kinda don't want to leave Helga alone. I feel like I have to protect her, you know?"

Gerald gave Arnold a look of pity. "Two things, Arnold. One, you do _not _need to protect Helga, of all people. She can handle herself just fine, I assure you. And two, you got it bad, man."

Arnold ignored Gerald's teasing and walked over to Helga. "While Gerald finds a safe spot for La Corazon, you, me and Phoebe will keep trying to find a way to rescue our families."

"Alright Arnold. Come on Phoebe, we're going," she said.

"Coming, Helga."

"Be careful, you guys," Gerald said.

"We will. You be careful too," Arnold said.


	12. Facing Their Feelings

Here's Chapter 12 everyone. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

><p><strong>6.) San Lorenzo<strong>

Arnold, Helga and Phoebe continued through the thick vegetation and eventually, they heard the sound of running water. Going to the source, they discovered a large river.

"Check the map Arnold," Phoebe said. "A river is a landmark so the map should be able to tell us where we are."

Arnold looked at the map and saw that Phoebe was right. They were at the Rio Claro. Glancing over the map, he saw something that made him beam.

"There's a city on the other side of this river, past the forest preserve we're in right now," he said.

"If there's a city, then there's police. If we could reach it, we could lead authorities to where La Sombra is holding your family and Olga hostage and rescue them," Phoebe said.

"And lock up the pirates while they're at it," Helga added.

"Then let's do it! Let's go to the city." Arnold said.

"Hold on Arnoldo, we still have to find a way to cross the river first," Helga said.

"Oh yeah. Well, we obviously can't jump it and we don't have a boat."

"And we probably can't swim across either. That current looks very rough," Phoebe said.

"You think there's a bridge somewhere along the path we could use?" Helga suggested.

"I doubt it. This river curves and bends in a lot of places and besides, it's unlikely that architects would be sent out here to build a bridge," Phoebe said.

"What about using stones?" Arnold asked.

"What are you talking about?" Helga asked.

"A lot of smaller rivers have these big stones that you can jump across."

"But this isn't a small river and besides, it's not like those rocks just formed naturally. People put them there to make the river easier to cross."

"Helga's correct. We would have to find rocks big enough to impede the flow of the river and the chances of finding such rocks in this environment are quite slim," Phoebe said.

"We have to try," Arnold said.

The three set to work looking for stones and after about an hour, found three that looked to be large enough.

"We're going to have to place them in the river manually. Throwing them is too risky and haphazard," Phoebe said.

Arnold placed the first stone down, and then Phoebe stepped on it and placed the second stone down. Helga was carrying the heaviest stone and was having trouble keeping herself balanced. She managed to plop the third stone down, but lost her footing in the process. She slipped and fell into the water and the current quickly carried her downstream.

"Helga!" Arnold called out.

"We've got to cross the river and follow her," Phoebe said.

They jumped across the rocks as quickly as they could and then ran along the path Helga was carried down.

* * *

><p>Helga tried to swim against the current but it was too powerful and the attempt was quickly sapping her energy.<p>

_All I can do is keep my head above water and hope that this current slows down at some point…_

The river carried her through several curves before bending into a waterfall which she dropped down, landing in a plunge pool. The force of the impact took her underwater and once she surfaced, Helga found that the flow was much calmer. Using the last reserves of her strength, Helga swam to a small piece of land on the right side of the pool. She lifted herself out of the water and flopped on the outcropping. Helga crawled forward and flipped herself over on her back, laying there to catch her breath.

* * *

><p>When Arnold and Phoebe found the waterfall, Arnold took his backpack off and searched inside until he found what he was looking for: a rope.<p>

"Find something close by to tie this to," he said to Phoebe.

Phoebe looked around and found a large stick. She took it and stuck into the soil as deep as it could go near the edge of the drop.

"A little shaky, but it'll have to do," Arnold said.

He tied the rope around the bottom of the stick and fastened it securely. He grabbed the rope with both hands and slowly moved off the edge, making sure his feet never left the surface of the wall. Once Arnold was low enough, Phoebe started down. They eventually made it to the ground and it was then that Arnold spotted Helga, still lying on her back, exhausted.

"Oh thank God," he muttered as he ran over to her. Bending down, Arnold put his right hand on her back and lifted her head before placing his left arm around her waist and propping her up.

"Are you okay, Helga?" he asked, worry evident in his face and his voice.

Breathing hard, Helga nodded before answering, "Yeah…yeah, I'm alright…"

"We should let her rest for a little while before continuing," Phoebe said.

"No, we can keep going," Helga said suddenly. "I'm alright…really."

"Don't push yourself Helga. You're obviously drained, so we can take a rest," Arnold said.

"It's okay, I can walk. We should keep moving."

Helga slowly stood up, struggling to stray upright. She tried to walk but her legs were still too weak and she nearly fell over after just two steps. Arnold caught her before she could fall.

"We're not going anywhere until you've regained your strength," Arnold said firmly. "Now sit back down and rest."

"But we need to get to the city so we can rescue everyone," Helga protested.

"An hour or so won't slow us down that much," Phoebe said.

"And besides, I'm not gonna risk you spraining or breaking something because you're pushing your body too hard," Arnold said.

"Alright, alright," Helga said, giving in.

Once Helga resumed her rest, Phoebe called Arnold over so they would be out of earshot of Helga.

"I didn't know you were Judeo-Christian," she said.

"Huh? I'm not Jewish or Christian. My family doesn't really have a defined set of religious beliefs," Arnold said.

"Oh. Well then why did you say 'Thank God' earlier?"

"You'd be surprised how often people invoke a higher power in a desperate situation," he said, before looking back at Helga.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Helga had recovered enough to walk on her own and the journey resumed. Using the map, Arnold found a straight path to the city and they were soon going through the jungle thickets again. About a fourth of the way through, they came upon a clearing and encountered Eduardo walking the opposite direction.<p>

"Eduardo, you're alright," Phoebe said.

"Yes, and I'm glad to see that you all are okay as well," he said.

"How did you manage to avoid capture?" Arnold asked.

"When I saw things getting bad, I ran back to the village to get help, but it was too late by then, so I've been looking for you and the other kids."

"We're heading to the city on the outskirts of this preserve," Phoebe said.

"The city? Why?"

"Arnold's family and my sister were captured by La Sombra so we're trying to alert the police and rescue them," Helga said.

"I see. I'll travel with you."

The group continued along the path. When they came upon the next clearing, Eduardo stopped.

"What's wrong?" Arnold asked.

"I heard a rustling in the grass. Someone or something is here," Eduardo said.

Suddenly, one of La Sombra's henchmen rose up from the grass with a blowgun. He shot a dart aimed right at Arnold. Instinct taking over, Helga pushed him out of the way and caught the dart in her right arm.

"Well, it wasn't who I was aiming for, but at least I got one of the strong ones! Now, hand over La Corazon!" the pirate demanded.

"We don't have it!" Arnold said, glaring at the man.

"Well then, where is it?"

"I don't know and even if I did, I'd never tell you!"

"In that case, I think I'll just take you all as hostages for La Sombra, so that the person who _does _have it will be more willing to part with it."

The next moment, a maniacal laughter rang out from above the group. Curly appeared, swinging from a vine. He headed straight for the pirate, kicking him in the side of his head. The man fell to the ground, unconscious and Curly jumped off the vine. He picked up the pirate's blowgun and took his sword before running off, emitting that same maniacal laughter.

Everyone was stunned into silence for a few moments after the incident. Finally, Helga spoke.

"I guess the little psycho can be useful after all."

"Helga, what did that man shoot in your arm?" Phoebe asked.

"Let me take a look," Eduardo said.

He took out the projectile and looked at it for a few seconds. A very worried expression set in.

"This is a poison-tipped dart," he said softly.

"Helga's been poisoned?" Arnold asked.

"Yes, and unfortunately, I can't tell what type of poison she's been injected with."

"Well, what can we do to help her?" Arnold asked, raising his voice.

Helga looked at Arnold in curiosity, surprised by the panic in his tone.

"Arnold, calm down. We don't even know if the poison is lethal," Phoebe said.

"It's poison! What kind of poisons do you know that AREN'T lethal?" Arnold yelled.

"Arnold please, control yourself," Eduardo said.

Arnold took several deep breaths to try to calm down, but it didn't help much.

"Eduardo, what can we do?" he asked again.

"Since I don't know the type of poison Helga's suffering from, our best option is to reach the hospital in the city," Eduardo answered.

"How long of a window do we have?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, as you said, the toxin may not be lethal to humans, but most lethal toxins can kill a human within 24 hours, so to be on the safe side, we should get out of this forest before the next night."

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Arnold said.

The group managed to cross half the preserve before night fell and they would've kept going if not for a rainstorm that started up.

"We need to take shelter," Eduardo said. "The last thing any of us want is to get sick."

They found a large canopy tree and climbed up on its branches, using the broad leaves to shield themselves from the rain. Arnold cursed Mother Nature for delaying Helga's recovery. He didn't sleep that night.

* * *

><p>As soon as the sun rose in the morning, Arnold woke everyone up and the group continued their trek toward the hospital. Helga noticed that Arnold's eyes were slightly bloodshot and she grew concerned.<p>

"Arnold, did you not sleep last night?" she asked.

He gave her a sheepish smile. "I couldn't sleep. I was too busy worrying about you."

"I'm okay, just a little stiff."

Arnold's smile immediately turned into a frown. "Helga, you have a poisonous substance coursing through your body as we speak so DO NOT tell me that you're okay because you're not."

Helga was taken aback by his gruff reply. "What's your problem, football head?"

Arnold sighed and looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rough. It's just…I feel so useless. You're being attacked by some unknown toxin and there's nothing I can do to help you."

"Don't beat yourself up over it; it's not your fault."

"Yes it is! That dart was meant for me, not you! If you hadn't pushed me out of the way, you wouldn't have been poisoned. If I had quicker reaction time, this wouldn't have happened. I should be the one suffering right now, not you."

"Arnold, stop it. This isn't your fault, it's really La Sombra's fault. Let's just focus on getting out of this forest."

As they continued on, they began to hear voices screaming and the sound was getting closer by the second.

"Those voices sound familiar…" Phoebe said.

"Yeah…" Arnold agreed.

A few moments later, Harold, Sid and Stinky came bursting through the brush followed by a screeching monkey.

"Get this monkey away from me!" Harold yelled.

The three ran to a nearby tree and were cowering with the monkey still screeching angrily and advancing on them. Helga glared at the monkey and walked up behind it. She grabbed its tail and quickly swung the creature back before throwing it onto a hanging branch above the three cowering boys. The monkey was still screeching, now gesturing angrily at Helga. She picked up a small rock and threw it at the primate, hitting it square in the face, which made it start whimpering.

"Man, that was annoying!" she said.

Suddenly, Harold ran up to her and got on his knees. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You saved us!"

"Get up, pink boy. I've got serious problems I'm dealing with right now."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Helga's been injected with a poison and we're trying to get her to a hospital," Phoebe said.

"How did you get poisoned?" Sid asked Helga.

"One of those pirates shot a poison dart at me with a blowgun," she said.

"No, he shot it at me. Helga pushed me out of the way and took the dart for me," Arnold said.

"Helga saved you?" Stinky asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"Helga likes Arnold! Helga likes Arnold!" Harold began to sing.

Helga clenched her fist and was about to sock him but Arnold beat her to it, punching Harold in the face.

"Shut it! I am far too stressed out right now to deal with your petty little jabs and the LAST thing Helga needs is to be teased!" Arnold shouted.

Everyone looked at Arnold in shock, including Helga. He had never shown this kind of short temper before.

"Let's go. We're losing time just standing here," Arnold said.

Harold, Stinky and Sid joined the group and as they started walking again, Helga glanced at Arnold anxiously. His behavior was not like that of the boy she fell in love with, even if it was motivated by worry for her.

"Arnold, are you okay?" she asked.

"Honestly Helga? No. I'm under a lot of pressure right now, and a lot of it is admittedly my own doing, but we have to get you to the hospital as quickly as possible. And come to think of it, that stunt you pulled by throwing the monkey, don't do something like that again. Exerting yourself like that just makes the poison spread through your body faster."

"Arnold's right Helga; you need to use as little energy as possible," Phoebe said.

"How did that monkey end up chasing you three anyway?" Helga asked.

"We were running from one of those pirates when we went under a tree branch and the pirate actually tripped over a rock. He hit his head on the trunk of the tree and was knocked unconscious but the force of the hit knocked that monkey out of his perch on that branch and then it started chasing us," Sid said.

Helga sighed in annoyance. _Idiots, all of them._

As they continued on, Helga's stiffness got worse, particularly on her right arm and soon, it went completely numb. When she noticed that she couldn't feel anything on that arm, she stopped and so did the others.

"What's the matter?" Phoebe asked.

"I can't feel anything on my right arm," she said.

Both Eduardo and Arnold cast worried glances at Helga.

"Helga, if anything else goes numb, let us know. I think I have an idea of what kind of poison this is," Eduardo said.

* * *

><p>The day wore on and as Helga's other limbs began to lose feeling, Phoebe became increasingly worried and Arnold found it almost impossible to keep his mounting fear under control. Even Harold, Stinky and Sid were beginning to worry about her. Eduardo said nothing but his expression was one of dread. When Helga noticed that it was becoming progressively difficult to <em>move <em>her arms and legs, Arnold couldn't hold his worry in any longer.

"Eduardo, what's wrong with her? If you know, then say something!"

"I think I already know what it is," Phoebe said. "Eduardo, is this a paralytic toxin?"

"Yes. Helga's symptoms are classic of a paralyzing poison," he said.

"So eventually, I won't be able to move?" Helga asked.

"Yes, but I'm afraid it may be worse than that," Eduardo said.

"Worse?" Helga asked, her voice carrying a hint of fear for the first time.

"Muscle paralysis doesn't just affect the limbs because muscle tissue is both external and internal. There's cardiac muscle and smooth muscle in several internal organs and passages."

"So what are you saying?" Arnold asked.

"I'm saying that we don't know how potent this toxin is and what muscles it will affect. Clearly, it's attacking her skeletal muscle, but it could spread to her internal muscle as well."

"And if that happens, what then?" Helga asked.

"It depends on the muscle that's affected."

"What's the worse-case-scenario?" Phoebe asked.

Eduardo paused before answering. "If the toxin spreads to her heart, it will cause cardiac arrest. If it spreads to her diaphragm, it will cause respiratory paralysis and she'll eventually stop breathing."

Phoebe glanced at Helga, looking more frightened than she ever had in her life. Arnold was wrestling with a mixture of different emotions. Panic, Anger, Frustration, Guilt and Sadness were all fighting it out inside him and fueling his desire to protect Helga. Without warning, he picked her up bridal style.

"Football head, what are you doing?" she asked, looking up at him.

"It's getting harder for you to move right? I'll carry you so you don't have to waste any more energy. Besides, we can move faster this way."

"I can still walk Arnold," she said.

"Don't argue with me Helga!" he snapped. His expression softened before he spoke again. "Please. It's my fault you're like this and I've been helpless to do anything about it until now. At least this way, I can do something for you. Let me have this, okay?"

Helga nodded and said nothing more.

Arnold started running and the others ran after him. Harold and Sid noticed Arnold's protective attitude toward Helga and it surprised them both.

"Man, Arnold really seems to be worried about Helga," Sid whispered to Harold.

"I know. I've never seen him act this way over anybody before," Harold said.

"You don't think he likes her, do you?"

"Nah. He probably just wants to make sure she doesn't kick the bucket. Even though she bullies him, you know how Arnold is about helping people."

"True."

* * *

><p>They made it through seventy five percent of the preserve when Helga's breathing became audibly labored. At this point, she had lost the ability to move her arms and legs.<p>

"What's wrong?" Arnold asked.

"It hurts to breathe," she said.

"The poison must be spreading to her diaphragm," Eduardo said.

"Oh no…" Phoebe whispered.

"How far are we from the end of the forest?" Arnold asked Phoebe, who was holding the map.

"A little less than a fourth of the way there," she answered.

Arnold looked down at Helga and gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "We're almost out. Hang in there okay?"

Helga nodded. Looking up at Arnold in that moment, she realized that he still didn't know her true feelings about him. She had told him she loved him once before, but had said afterward that it was a lie blurted out in a frenzy of emotion. Helga knew she didn't have long to live and she didn't want to die with regrets about her love for the boy.

_He needs to know the truth…and so do I._

"Arnold?"

"Don't talk Helga. Save your strength," he said.

"I need to tell something…really important."

"Can't it wait?"

"No…I don't have much time left…"

"Don't say that! You're going to be okay."

"Arnold please…I need to say this while I have the chance."

"…Okay. What is it?"

"I want this to stay…between the two of us. I need to tell you…in private."

"But there's nowhere for us to go and we can't just stop and ask everyone to leave."

"I know. If I have to, I'll just whisper it in your ear, but…if we come across a temple or some kind of building…could we stop and go inside so I can tell you?"

"Alright."

* * *

><p>They kept going and didn't spot any sort of building. Suddenly, the ground gave way underneath Arnold's feet and he fell into a hole, still holding Helga. Once he realized what had happened, Arnold involuntarily growled in anger and looked at the sky.<p>

_If there is some sort of higher power up there, he or she must love making my life difficult._

"Are you okay, Arnold?" Sid yelled down.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What about Helga?" Phoebe asked.

"She's okay too. Do any of you have a rope?"

"Me, Harold and Sid lost our backpacks by throwing 'em at that monkey that was chasing us," Stinky said.

"What about you, Eduardo?" Arnold asked.

"I'm afraid I used my rope to cross the Rio Claro. Even if I had it, there's nothing around to tie it to."

"Then keep going to the city and get help. Helga needs treatment now."

"Alright," Phoebe said.

Once they were gone, Arnold looked down at Helga.

"Well, we're alone now, so I guess you can say what you wanted to earlier. Before you do though, there's something I want to say that I should've said earlier. You saved my life when you pushed me out of the way of that dart. Thanks."

Helga smiled at him. "You know, you just gave me the perfect segue into what I want to tell you."

She hesitated and cursed herself for feeling scared.

"You remember last summer when we saved the town from that creep who wanted to demolish it and build a mall over it?" she asked.

"Of course I remember."

"Do you remember…what I told you on the FTI building, about my feelings for you?"

Arnold paused, wondering why she would bring that incident up.

"Yeah…"

"What I said that day…it wasn't a lie. No matter what I said afterwards, every word I spoke to you was the truth. And the feelings that I revealed that day are the reason why I protected you. I love you Arnold. I did then and I do now."

Arnold didn't say anything initially because even though a part of him had expected this, he still didn't know how to respond. Before he could speak, Helga continued.

"If you don't love me back, I understand. I wouldn't expect you to. I just…didn't want to expire without telling you the truth."

"Helga…I —"

Suddenly, Helga's eyes rolled back in her head and then closed. Her head went limp.

"Helga? HELGA!"

Arnold shook her as hard as he could, but she didn't open her eyes.

"Helga, wake up. Come on, wake up."

He shook her again, trying desperately to stave off the feeling of panic that threatened to overtake him. She still didn't respond.

"Helga, come on, this isn't funny! We both know how strong you are. You can't let this poison beat you now."

When Helga continued to lay still and unresponsive, Arnold's eyes filled with tears. He looked at her chest and didn't see it rise or fall.

_No…please no._

The tears started to roll down his face.

"Please…please wake up…" he whispered.

Choking back sobs, Arnold's despair slowly turned to anger.

"Damn it Helga, you can't die! Not now. I didn't even get a chance to tell you how I felt! You can't be gone!"

He hugged her body to him, now fully sobbing. Arnold's tears didn't last long before anger took over again, but this time, it fueled a desire to save her because he realized that there was something he could do to keep her alive. He looked at her face with a mixture of tenderness and fierce determination.

"You are _not _gonna die on me. Do you hear me Helga? I won't let you!"

He laid her down and positioned her body straight before leaning over her, looking at her face.

"I love you too damn much…"


	13. Completing the Circuit

Hi everyone. I know it's been a long time since I updated this story and I apologize for that. I was busy with school and working on other fanfics. But I had been slowly but steadily working on this chapter and it's finally finished. This is the conclusion of the San Lorezno theme as well as Arnold and Helga's launch into being an official couple. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's the longest one I've ever written. Read & Review.

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><p><strong>6.) San Lorenzo<strong>

Arnold put his left hand on her chest and began to perform CPR. He didn't know whether her heart was beating or not since he hadn't bothered to check for a pulse but keeping oxygen circulating in her body was his objective.

As he started to give her mouth to mouth, the thought occurred that what he was doing was known colloquially as "the kiss of life" and despite the dire situation before him, Arnold couldn't help feeling momentarily embarrassed, but quickly pushed the thought away and focused on the task at hand.

He continued to perform CPR for nine hours straight into the early morning. Helga never regained conscious in all that time, but Arnold didn't stop. No matter how exhausted he got or how hopeless the situation seemed, Arnold refused to abandon the faint hope that she was still alive. Just as his body was about to give out on him, he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Arnold! Arnold, you down there?" his grandfather asked.

"Grandpa!"

"Don't worry, we'll get you out!"

It was then that he saw his parents and his grandmother as well.

"Everyone, you're okay!" he said happily.

"Hang on Arnold, we'll send a rope down so you can climb out," Stella said,

"Wait, Helga's down here too."

"Don't worry Kimba, I'll take care of her," Gertrude said.

Arnold gave his grandmother a confused look before seeing her pull out her own rope.

"Sit her up Kimba," she instructed.

Arnold did as he was told and then Gertrude quickly fashioned the rope into a lasso before throwing it around Helga's torso and slowly began to pull her up. Miles threw his own rope down, tying it to a spear from one of the Green Eyes and Arnold climbed out of the hole.

"What happened to her?" Miles asked, looking at Helga's unconscious form.

"She got hit with a poisonous dart that was meant for me. She pushed me out of the way."

Stella went over to the girl and checked her pulse.

"Well, her heart is beating. What kind of poison was she injected with?" she asked.

"It's a paralyzing poison. It paralyzed her diaphragm and she stopped breathing so I started doing CPR…"

Tears had started to fill his eyes again.

Stella took out a mirror and held it up to Helga's mouth. When it began to fog up little by little, she smiled.

"Arnold, I don't think she ever stopped breathing, I just think it became extremely labored. When the diaphragm stops working, the person usually can still take in air through the muscles in and around the ribcage. She probably would've stopped breathing eventually had you not performed CPR however. You potentially saved her life."

"Can you help her?" Arnold asked.

"I think so. I've encountered practically every kind of poison you can imagine and developed antidotes to them."

Stella searched her backpack and found a vial.

"Lift her head, Arnold. Miles, open her mouth," she said.

The two did as they were instructed. Stella carefully poured the liquid into Helga's mouth and rubbed her throat to help it go down.

"That should neutralize the toxin. She'll start breathing normally on her own again in a few hours."

"Thanks, mom," Arnold said, smiling at Stella.

"Anything for my little boy," she said, returning the smile.

"How did you manage to escape?" Arnold asked.

"The Green Eyes helped us," Miles said. "The warriors that protected La Corazon's temple had come to and waited until La Sombra's guards had their backs turned. They attacked and caught the pirates off guard. In the confusion, one of them broke us out of our bonds."

"Speaking of La Corazon, where is it?" Stella asked.

"It's right here," someone said.

They all turned and saw Gerald and the Green Eyes from before running toward them.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked, looking at Helga.

"I'll tell you later. Did the pirates or La Sombra ever find you?" Arnold asked.

"Nope. We hid in different temples and whenever the pirates came close to discovering us, we went on the move again."

"I knew I could count on you," Arnold said, smiling at his best friend.

"Thanks man. Now, what happened to Helga?"

"She got poisoned with a dart that one of the pirates shot at me. Helga pushed me out of the way and she got hit instead."

"Wow…I guess Helga really does care about you."

Arnold looked at Helga and smiled. "Yeah, she does…"

"I hate to interrupt, but we need to get La Corazon back to its rightful place," Miles said.

"That's right. Gerald, let's take the Green Eyes and my parents back to the temple and put La Corazon where it belongs."

"What should we do?" Phil asked.

"Take Helga back to the village so she can recover," Arnold said.

His grandparents nodded and picked Helga up.

* * *

><p>The group traveled back toward the temple and Arnold's grandparents took a fork in the path that led back to the Green Eyes village.<p>

Once they arrived, Phil and Gertrude realized that they couldn't communicate with the people in their native language.

"What are we going to do, Phil? Arnold told us to take care of this girl," Gertrude said.

"I guess we'll just go inside one of the huts and hope that the people will let us stay," Phil said.

"Let's go to the chief. He knows your son, so maybe he'll help us."

"Good idea."

They went inside the chief's hut and when the man saw Helga's condition, asked what was wrong, in his native tongue. Not knowing how to respond, Phil simply told the chief that Helga was sick and needed rest. The chief nodded in understanding and called for assistance. Two women and one man came inside before taking Helga and laying her down. They checked for fever, chills and any other common aliment that they knew of. Once these were ruled out, the chief directed his people to go back to their homes and allowed Phil and Gertrude to stay until Helga was recovered.

* * *

><p>Arnold, Gerald, Miles, Stella and the Green Eyes eventually made it back to the temple, only to be greeted by La Sombra and a dozen of his henchmen. Rhonda, Harold, Nadine, Sid and Stinky were all tied up in addition to Olga. La Sombra smirked at Arnold.<p>

"I must thank you for bringing La Corazon here and saving me the trouble of tracking it down. Now, hand it over and no one will get hurt. Choose to resist, and your friends will die."

Arnold glared at La Sombra. _Damn! What am I gonna do?_

* * *

><p>Helga's eyes flickered open and when her surroundings came into view, she saw Arnold's grandparents looking down at her.<p>

"Oh good, you're awake," Gertrude said.

"Where am I?" Helga asked, her voice weak.

"You're in the village chief's hut. He let us stay here until you woke up," Phil said.

Suddenly, Helga remembered her confession to Arnold and sat up. "Where's Arnold?"

"He and his parents went to take La Corazon back to its rightful place," Gertrude said.

"How did you and his parents escape?"

"The Green Eyed people helped us get free."

"You know, short man was really worried about you. He told us to take you here so you could heal," Phil said.

"Heal? Heal from what?" Helga asked.

"You passed out from the poison and Arnold performed CPR to keep you breathing. His mother gave you an antidote and that's why you're awake now," Gertrude said.

_So I slowed Arnold down again. It seems that's all I've done on this trip._

"Once this whole thing is over, do you know if Arnold is going to stay with his parents?"

"Nope. Arnold's never mentioned what he's gonna do once this is all said and done," Phil said.

"Well, maybe he should stay in San Lorenzo. I just get in the way and with him here, he won't have to worry about me anymore," Helga said in a bitter tone.

"Sweetie, you know Arnold doesn't see it that way. You're his friend and he cares about you," Gertrude said.

"He shouldn't. I've never been a great friend to anybody and that's definitely true with Arnold."

"What do you mean? According to him, you actually saved his life by taking that poison dart for him. That sounds like a great friend to me," Phil said.

"Of course the football head is gonna tell you the good, but I bet he never mentioned the bad to you and believe me, the bad outweighs the good. I'm done with this whole expedition. Once it's all over, Arnold can stay with his parents and I'll go back to regular life in Hillwood."

Helga didn't look at Arnold's grandparents because she knew she was at least partially lying. If Arnold did choose to stay in San Lorenzo, she would have no place to live and would go into foster care, but she was prepared for that possibility. Suddenly, a familiar sound assaulted her ears; a heavy, rhythmic breathing. Helga turned and saw Brainy sitting in front of her.

"Brainy, what are you doing here? No one saw you on the plane."

He didn't answer.

"How did you know we were coming to San Lorenzo? And how did you find me?"

He still didn't respond. Instead, Brainy stuck his hand down her shirt and pulled out her golden locket. Opening it, Brainy held it up so Helga could see the picture of Arnold inside. Helga looked at the picture in confusion, wondering why he was showing it to her. After a few seconds, Brainy lowered the locket and Helga caught it in her hands, with the picture still facing her.

Brainy looked up at Helga, eye to eye, before opening his mouth and saying three words.

"He needs you."

Brainy stood up, turned around, and then walked out of the hut without saying another word. Helga looked at the opening of the hut for several moments, absorbing what had just happened. She then looked down at her locket and the picture contained within.

_He needs me…_

Staring at the picture, Helga's facial expression turned to one of determination.

_If that's so, then I've gotta do everything I can to help him. I'm coming, Arnold…_

She put her locket back in her shirt and stood up. Gertrude and Phil looked at her worriedly.

"What are you doing?" Phil asked.

"I'm going to help your grandson," she said.

The two looked at each other and then back at Helga.

"Just be careful dear," Gertrude said.

Helga nodded and ran out of the hut.

* * *

><p>She remembered the path to the temple and so was able to reach it quickly. She crouched down behind some bushes and surveyed the situation. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but she could hazard an educated guess.<p>

_Alright Helga, what are you gonna do? Arnold needs your help. _

Helga saw that La Sombra and his men were completely focused on Arnold and his group and came up with an idea.

_If I can catch them off guard, Arnold and the others can get the pirates away from the kids. While they're distracted, I can free everyone. But I've got to act fast. _

Helga looked around and spotted a large tree behind the pirates with several branches that she could stand on.

_Perfect!_

Helga stood up and tip-toed over to the tree, making sure not to make any noise that would attract the pirates' attention. She climbed the tree and got on the second highest branch. She was right behind the pirate crew and overlooking the scene. Helga glanced up and saw a vine wrapped around the branch above her and another idea came to her.

_If it worked for Curly, it can work for me._

Helga unwrapped the vine from the branch before gripping the it tightly and lining herself up right behind La Sombra. Gathering up her courage, she jumped off the branch and swung toward the pirate leader. As she got closer, Helga pushed her feet forward and kicked La Sombra in the back of the head as hard as she could, knocking him to the ground. She then jumped off the vine and landed right in front of Arnold.

"Helga?" Arnold cried out in surprise.

"No time to explain. Take care of the pirates and I'll free the other kids," Helga said as she ran towards the bound children.

Arnold nodded and immediately went on the attack, striking one of the henchmen in the chest. His parents, Gerald and the Green Eyes followed his lead and began fighting the other pirates.

Helga untied the kids one at a time as quickly as she could.

"Thanks for freeing us Helga," Nadine said.

"You can thank me once La Sombra and his goons have been taken care of."

She went in the direction of the fighting and looked back to see that all the kids hadn't moved.

"Well, don't just stand there, help out! Arnold and the Green Eyes need all the help they can get."

The kids nodded and ran after Helga. Rhonda ran up on one of the pirates and gave him an uppercut to the chin and then Nadine came in and pushed him down.

"Hold him down Nadine," Rhonda said.

Nadine nodded and pressed down both his arms. Rhonda took the sword that the pirate had dropped and threw it into the thickets before holding down the man's legs.

Harold ran at the pirate next to the one Rhonda and Nadine had taken down and punched him as hard as he could in the chest to stun him and then he wrapped his arms around the man's torso before kneeing him in his testicles. The man doubled over in pain and dropped his weapon, which Harold took and used to whack him in the back of the head, knocking him out.

* * *

><p>Sid and Stinky, who were close to Harold, were dodging the blades of two of the pirates. Sid punched the pirate he was facing in the right arm and the man retaliated by slashing at his head. Sid ducked and the sword missed his head but not his green hat, which got the top cut off.<p>

Sid glared at the pirate. "You ruined my favorite hat, you jerk!"

He grabbed hold of both ends of the blade of the pirate's sword and pulled on it, pulling the man's right arm down with it. He continued to pull with all his strength and managed to pull the sword away from the pirate.

"Now who's got the power?" Sid asked, brandishing the weapon.

Using the blunt side of the blade, he hit his opponent in the stomach and once the pirate fell to his knees, Sid hit him again in the face, knocking him onto his back. The man hit his head on the ground and was nearly knocked unconscious.

"Way to go Sid," Stinky said.

"Stinky, look out!" Sid yelled.

"Huh?"

Stinky turned and saw the second pirate's sword coming for his face. He barely managed to duck the blade. The country boy glared at his enemy.

"I'm not a violent person, but I'm not ready to go in the ground yet. Sorry sir, but I'm gonna have to take that there sword away from you."

The pirate laughed at Stinky. "Take this sword? Just try it boy!"

"Okey-dokey," Stinky said.

He pointed his head at the man and rammed it into his chest. The pirate was knocked back and Stinky rammed his head into his stomach, causing the pirate to drop his weapon. Stinky picked up the sword and pointed it at the pirate.

"Stay there and I won't have to use this against you," he said.

* * *

><p>Gerald was over by the Green Eyes helping them fight off four of the pirates. He was mostly pushing, kicking and punching to distract the pirates and allow the warriors of the Green Eyes to come in for a strong attack. He could only use one hand since he was holding La Corazon. Since there were four of the Green Eyes with him, the pirates never got the chance to take the scared jewel.<p>

* * *

><p>Helga stayed close to Arnold as she helped battle La Sombra's henchmen. Unfortunately, she had not completely recovered from the paralyzing toxin so her movements were not as fluid and her reflexes weren't as quick as usual. In the chaos, one of the pirates caught her off guard and raised his sword to slice her across her torso. Arnold saw what was about to happen and rushed over, tackling her out of the way just in time.<p>

"Are you alright?" he asked once he got off her.

"Yeah…"

"Your muscles aren't fully healed yet so stay behind me. I'll handle him," Arnold said, glancing at the pirate that attacked Helga.

"Forget it football head! I'm not gonna stand by and do nothing!"

"You've already done enough. Let me take over."

"Look Arnoldo, you're not gonna tell me-"

"Look out!" Arnold yelled suddenly.

Helga turned and saw the pirate from before charging and ready to swing his sword down on her and Arnold. Arnold got in front of Helga and caught the sword in his hands as it was coming down. He could feel blood running down his hands, but focused on holding the blade back. Helga ran up behind the pirate and bashed the back of his head with a cupped, closed first. Stunned, the man dropped his weapon and Arnold kicked him in his stomach, making him double over. Arnold picked up the sword and sliced the pirate across the face. The man cried out as the blood poured from his eyes, nose and mouth. He collapsed, immobilized from the pain.

Arnold looked over at Helga and narrowed his eyes in frustration. "Helga, I told you I'd handle it!"

"And I told you I was gonna help out whether you like it not," she said.

Arnold sighed in exasperation and took a look around. His parents were fighting La Sombra, and Gerald and the Green Eyes were still fighting four of the henchmen. He turned back to Helga.

"You wanna help out? Then help the Green Eyes fight. I'm going to help my parents."

"Fine with me football head."

Arnold ran towards Miles and Stella while Helga went toward Gerald and the Green Eyes. When Miles saw his son coming, his expression turned to one of surprise and worry.

"Stay back Arnold! Let us handle this," he said.

"Fool. Never turn your back on an opponent," La Sombra said before slashing Miles across the chest.

"Dad!" Arnold called out.

Stella ran over to Miles, who had a large, bleeding cut on his chest.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Miles sat up and looked at his wife. "I'll be fine. But Arnold can't get involved. La Sombra is too dangerous an opponent."

"I know." She turned to Helga and her son. "Arnold, you and your friend stay out of this. We don't want you getting hurt. Leave La Sombra to us."

"But mom-"

"No buts young man!"

Helga had looked back when she heard Arnold yell and instead of helping the Green Eyes, she decided to watch the confrontation with La Sombra.

Miles stood up and Stella followed. "Most of your henchman have been dispatched, and by kids no less. Why don't you give up and leave the Green Eyes in peace?" Miles said to La Sombra.

The pirate leader laughed. "Do you really think you've won? I have plenty more men on the other side of the river and you two are no match for me."

"We've defeated you before and we'll do it again!" Stella said.

La Sombra said nothing and instead ran at Stella and swung his sword diagonally at her but she dodged by jumping to the side. Miles came up from behind and wrapped his arms around the pirate's torso, squeezing as hard as he could. La Sombra dropped his sword and Stella immediately went to grab it. Thinking quickly, La Sombra slammed his head into Miles's face, causing Miles to loosen his grip.

The pirate leader made a grab for his weapon, but Stella was quicker and swiped it up. She began to attack him but he easily dodged her swings. When she went for a vertical stab, La Sombra took his chance and grabbed her arm. Using both hands, he flipped Stella over on her stomach. She dropped the sword and La Sombra picked it up just in time to see Miles charging at him. Dodging the man's incoming fist, the pirate stabbed Miles in his left side, causing him to collapse.

Arnold started to run toward his dad, but felt someone pull him back before he'd gone four steps. He looked back and saw Helga holding his right arm.

"Let me go Helga! I've gotta help him!"

"Arnold, your parents told you to stay back," she said.

"If I stay back, he's going to kill them!"

"If you go in there, you could end up dead too! And I'm not gonna let that happen."

"But Helga-"

"Your parents don't want you get hurt…and neither do I."

Arnold saw her pleading stare and softened slightly. He knew she was only trying to protect him, but he had to help his mom and dad.

"Helga please…I finally found my parents after being separated from them for almost seven years. I don't wanna lose them again."

Helga saw the tears that started to well up in Arnold's eyes and she relented. She would never forgive herself if Arnold's parents died because she wouldn't let him fight.

"Okay, but you're not doing this alone. I'm fighting with you."

"No way! You're in no shape to fight La Sombra."

"Oh so you can forbid me from fighting but I can't do the same to you?"

"You're not at full strength. I am. You're more vulnerable than me."

"Arnold, come on. If your parents are having so much trouble against this guy, you need all the help you can get."

"Look Helga, I know you wanna help, but please, stay out of this fight. I would never forgive myself if you got hurt. I almost lost you once already and I won't let that happen again."

"How do you think I feel? You're my friend Arnold, and I'd hate myself for letting you get hurt. Whenever I have a problem, what do you always say? 'Let me help you'. Now it's my turn. Let _me _help _you._ "

Arnold looked down at the ground in thought for a moment and then looked back at Helga.

"Alright, but promise me you'll be really careful."

Helga nodded and the two ran towards Arnold's parents. Stella was dodging La Sombra's attacks. Miles lay on the ground, his right hand covering his stab wound. Arnold stopped when he reached his father.

"Helga, stay by my dad for now. If I need you, I'll let you know," Arnold said.

"And how are you going to do that?"

"I'll look your way and give you a signal. You'll know it when you see it."

"Arnold, I thought you said you'd let me fight."

"I will, but I still don't want you fighting unless it's needed. You're not fully healed and I don't want you in any undue danger."

"Arnold!" Helga's voice held clear frustration as she said his name.

"Look, I let you win last time, let me win this time. Besides, I don't want to leave my dad alone. I want you to protect him."

Helga sighed, giving in. "Alright, but you'd better be careful too."

"I will."

Arnold looked at his mother who was still dodging La Sombra's blows. Seeing that the pirate's back was to him, Arnold got a running start and jumped kicked the man in the back, causing him to stumble. Stella tried to pull his sword away but La Sombra was stronger and pulled it back. He readied his sword to stab her just like he did Miles, but Arnold kicked him in the back again to make him lose his concentration.

La Sombra turned his attention to Arnold and glared.

"I'm growing tired of your interference boy!"

He swung his sword down, intending to slice the boy's face. Arnold saw the attack coming and dodged with a back handspring. As La Sombra advanced on him, Stella saw an opportunity to severely injure their opponent and gain the upper hand. She took out a small knife from a pouch on her belt and ran at the pirate, raising the blade and plunging it into the small of his back.

La Sombra cried out in pain and stumbled forward, momentarily paralyzed from the attack. Stella pulled the knife out and stepped back. Arnold looked at his mother in shock. La Sombra turned to her and growled in anger. He immediately knocked the knife out of her hand with his sword before slicing her stomach. Stella doubled over in pain.

"You will pay for that, wench!" he said. He raised his sword to stab her in the heart.

"Mom!" Arnold screamed in panic.

Helga had been watching the confrontation with baited breath and as soon as she saw La Sombra cut Stella, she knew what she had to do. She immediately ran towards the pirate as fast as she could and just as he was about to plunge the blade into Stella's chest, Helga jumped on La Sombra's back. He dropped his sword and reeled back from the force of the impact. Helga wrapped her arms around La Sombra's neck and wrapped her feet around his torso to keep her anchored.

It took Arnold several seconds to register what happened.

_Helga…she saved my mom's life._

Arnold noticed La Sombra's sword on the ground and ran for it. Picking it up, Arnold went over to Stella.

"Are you okay mom?" he asked.

"Yes Arnold, I'm alright. But we need to help your friend."

"But with Helga still on top of him, if I attack, I could end up hurting her too."

"I know."

Helga tightened her grip around La Sombra's neck hoping to choke him into unconsciousness. He figured out her plan and swung his right fist around, punching her in the face. She managed to hang on, but her grip loosened. He punched her again and this time, the force was enough to knock her to the ground.

"Oh no, Helga!" Arnold said to himself.

He ran towards La Sombra and Helga, sword in hand. The pirate leader pulled out a knife of his own and like with Stella, aimed for Helga's heart.

"I must admit, you've got a lot of spunk for a little girl. I almost feel bad for killing you."

Before he could ready the weapon for attack, it was knocked from his hand by Arnold. Since Arnold had swung down with the sword, he had cut La Sombra's hand in the process.

"You stay away from her!" Arnold said, glaring at the pirate and pointing the blade at him.

"I don't take orders, especially from insolent little brats like you!"

La Sombra pulled out a pistol and in a form of payback, he knocked the sword from Arnold and then pistol whipped him in his face, knocking him down next to Helga. La Sombra pointed the gun at the two now terrified kids.

"I've never had a bunch of kids give me this much trouble. Then again, you are the son of Miles and Stella, the saviors of the Green Eyed people. I should've expected you to be just like your parents; a stubborn, idealistic fool. A fighter to be sure, but a fool. And now boy, say your last prayer in your final seconds of life. Don't worry about your parents as they'll be joining you soon enough.

Arnold and Helga held each other's hands and closed their eyes in preparation for their deaths. Just as La Sombra was about to pull the trigger, he felt a searing pain in the back of his head for about two seconds before he fell to the ground unconscious. Arnold and Helga heard the thud and opened their eyes to see Stella with a large jagged rock in hand.

"Mom, you saved us!" Arnold said.

"Of course. There's no way I'd let that monster harm my son or his friend," she said smiling.

"What do you want us to do with him?" Helga asked, pointing to La Sombra.

"Don't worry about him. He won't be waking up for a while. Now, if I just had a phone, we could call the police."

"I don't think you have to," Arnold said.

Helga and Stella followed Arnold's gaze and saw Curly come swinging in on a vine followed by three police squad cars. Once they came to a stop, Phoebe and Eduardo came out along with several uniformed officers.

"Phoebe! You're okay!" Helga said happily.

"Yes. Eduardo and I managed to make it to the city and when we informed the police of your situation, they set in search of you all immediately."

"I'm glad to see everyone is safe," Eduardo said.

"Well, not everyone…" Helga said, looking over at Miles.

"Miles, what happened?" Eduardo asked, running over to his friend.

"La Sombra…caught me off guard…" Miles managed to say.

"Come, we'll get you to the hospital immediately," Eduardo said, helping Miles to stand.

The police chief came over to Stella. "Well, it looks like you all already subdued the pirates, so we'll take it from here. I've already called for back up. Let's get you all back to town so you can get the proper medical treatment and get back home."

"Thank you very much," Stella said.

"Wait mom, we still need to return La Corazon to the temple," Arnold said.

"That's right."

Stella, Arnold and Helga went over to Gerald and the Green Eyes.

"Good, you kept it safe," Stella said to Gerald.

"Now let's put it back where it belongs," Arnold said.

The group went inside the temple entrance. The Green Eyes took the jewel from Gerald and went deeper into the cave. After a few minutes they returned and bowed before Arnold and Helga.

"Thank you…Arnold," they said in unison.

"You're welcome. You've done so much for my parents, it's the least I can do."

"Come on Arnold, let's get home," Gerald said.

Arnold nodded and they went along with the others with the police. Back up had arrived and La Sombra and his men were being taken into custody.

* * *

><p>After picking up Arnold's grandparents, everyone was transported to the city on the outskirts of the forest preserve. Miles and Stella were taken to the hospital for treatment. Eduardo had already readied a flight back to Hillwood so once they got there, most of the kids got on the plane immediately. Arnold, Helga, Gerald, Phoebe, Phil and Gertrude stayed at the hospital to wait on Miles and Stella.<p>

After a few hours, the two were discharged and the group went to the airport. Arnold hugged Gerald as he was boarding the plane.

"Thanks for all your help, Gerald."

"What are best friends for?" Gerald asked. He smiled at Arnold before getting on the plane with Phoebe.

Arnold turned to his parents and his grandparents, all of whom were beaming at him.

"We're so proud of you Arnold," Stella said.

"We sure are, short man," Phil agreed.

"You've grown into such a fine young man. We're proud to call you our son," Miles said.

"Thanks everyone," Arnold said, trying not to cry.

Helga watched the scene and smiled, truly happy for Arnold.

_Well football head, it looks like you finally found what was missing in your life._

"Your grandma and I had better get on that plane. Come along when you're ready," Phil said.

"I will."

Arnold watched his grandparents get on the plane and then turned back to his mom and dad.

"I'm so happy to have found you."

"We're glad you came looking for us. We're sorry we couldn't came back like we promised," Stella said.

"It's okay, I understand why you couldn't. I'm just glad to know you're both alive and okay."

"Are you going to go back with your friends or do you wanna stay here with us?" Miles asked.

"To be honest, I hadn't really thought about it, what with everything that went on in the last couple of days."

"Well, if you're going back to Hillwood, you'd better hurry because I think the last of your friends is getting on the plane."

Arnold looked back and saw that Helga was already halfway to the plane. "Hey Helga, wait up!"

She stopped when she heard him call her and Arnold ran over to her.

"You weren't gonna leave me behind, were you?" he asked, smiling.

"I thought you were gonna stay with your parents," she said.

"Well, I haven't really decided."

"Then let me make a suggestion: stay here."

"What? Why?" Arnold asked. He thought she'd want him to come back with her.

"You deserve to get to know your real parents and with La Sombra locked up, this place is a lot safer to live in than Hillwood. Besides…" She muttered the last part under her breath. "…you won't have me to burden your life anymore…"

Helga thought Arnold hadn't heard her, but he had. "Burden my life? Helga, I already told you, you aren't a burden. In fact, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have been able to stop La Sombra. You gave us an opening to catch the rest of his group off guard."

"Yeah, that's the one good thing I did during this whole disaster. Most of the time, I got myself into trouble and slowed everyone down. In fact, for the past couple of months, worrying about me is all you've done, isn't it?"

"Well…yeah, kinda. You seemed to shut yourself off from me and I didn't know why."

"This is why I said you shouldn't worry about me. It's wasted on someone who doesn't deserve it. Because all that time, I was only thinking about my own feelings and insecurities. I'm selfish, Arnold. That's what it boils down to. I'm a selfish, insecure brat who doesn't deserve friendship, least of all yours!"

"That's not true and you know it!" Arnold said, angry to hear her talking down about herself.

"Oh really? I've bullied you for most of your life, and even when I became your friend, I wouldn't let you inside when you were willing to help me because I was scared of being emotionally vulnerable. I've caused you nothing but grief and you would be better off just forgetting about me!"

The next thing Helga knew, she felt a sharp stinging sensation on her left cheek. She turned to Arnold in utter disbelief. He had just slapped her. In a scene of déjà vu, Arnold held Helga's shoulders firmly, glaring at her.

"Stop talking like that!" he nearly shouted. "You're wrong! You are not a burden and you are not a brat!" His eyes softened when he spoke again. "You saved me from being killed by a poison dart, you saved my mom from being killed by La Sombra, you gave us the opportunity we needed to get an advantage over the pirates, you rallied the other kids to fight, and you fought them twice yourself and did a better job than me and Gerald. You're an amazing girl, Helga."

He paused and his eyes narrowed again. "And don't you EVER say that I would be better off if you weren't around! Do you know how I felt when I thought you had died? You had just told me you loved me for the second time and then your eyes rolled back in your head and you fainted. I called your name, shook you, _begged_ you to wake up…but you didn't. I really thought you were dead. Do you have ANY idea what that did to me? It **killed** me, Helga! I felt like someone had ripped my heart out and tore it into tiny pieces!"

Tears were rolling down Arnold's face as he finished.

"So you tell me, how can my life possibly be better without the girl I love?"

Once again, Helga was struck speechless. Arnold smiled at her and moved closer.

"And forget about you? Never…" He closed the distance between them and kissed her.

Helga's mind was on overload. She still hadn't processed Arnold's confession and now he was kissing her.

"Hey Arnold, are you coming back with us or staying…"

Gerald was stopped in his tracks upon seeing his best friend kissing Helga G. Pataki.

"…here?"

Arnold's face was as red as a strawberry as he looked at Gerald, trying to come up with an explanation for why he was lip-locking with his biggest bully. Helga was off in her own world, still on Cloud 9 from Arnold's kiss.

"Man, tell me I didn't just see what I think I saw," Gerald said to Arnold.

"Well…you did, but it wasn't what you're thinking. I was only kissing her to show my appreciation for her help in stopping the river pirates."

Gerald gave his friend a skeptical look. "Whatever you say Arnold." He turned and walked back toward the plane.

Gerald's question reminded Arnold that he still hadn't made his decision on whether to stay with his parents or stay with his friends and grandparents. After what had just happened, he realized what the best course of action was. He walked back over to Miles and Stella.

"Mom, Dad, I think I'm gonna go back to Hillwood. It's not that I don't want to stay with you, but I just don't think I'm ready to leave all my friends behind. Besides, Helga needs me right now."

"We understand son. We couldn't go back to Hillwood right now anyway," Miles said.

"It would be better if we stayed behind so we can make sure that La Sombra and his men are locked up for as long as possible. That way, the Green Eyes will be safe," Stella said.

"And from the looks of things, you need Helga just as much as she needs you," Miles said, smiling at Arnold knowingly.

Arnold blushed and gave his father a half-hearted glare. "Dad!"

Miles laughed and ruffled his son's hair. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I think it's great you've found your special someone, especially at such a young age."

"Dad, you don't understand. The kids at school will never let me or her live it down if they find out we're together. We're supposed to hate each other, not love each other."

"Arnold, if you really feel strongly for this girl, it shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks. If the other kids tease you, so what? You don't get together with someone in order to please others, you do it because you care about the other person," Stella said.

Arnold smiled at his mother, feeling better and worse at the same time. Better because she made him realize that how he felt about Helga was more important than what others thought of their relationship and worse because he had allowed potential embarrassment to make him want to hide those feelings.

"Now, you and Helga had better get on the plane before it leaves without you," she said.

Arnold nodded before hugging his mom and then his dad. "I love you guys."

"We love you too, Arnold," Miles said.

Arnold went back to where he had left Helga and discovered that she was already on her way to the plane, so he sprinted to catch up with her.

"Helga! That's the second time you left without me. Are you trying to get rid of me?" Arnold asked.

Helga shook her head. Arnold looked at her face and could tell that something was wrong.

"Helga, are you okay?" She nodded but still didn't say anything.

Her response only increased his worry, so he took her hand in his, hoping to put her at ease. A look of surprise flashed across Helga's features, but it vanished almost instantly. Her hand hung limp in Arnold's as they walked up the steps. As soon as they were on the plane, Helga pulled her hand away and folded her arms across her chest so Arnold couldn't grab it again.

Now Arnold knew that she wasn't just upset; she was angry. He began to feel angry too, not because she was, but because something was clearly bothering her and she refused to tell him what it was or let him comfort her. Her habit of not letting him be a friend to her when she needed one vexed Arnold more than all the years of bullying he'd endured at her hands.

They sat together on the left side of the plane by a window. For a few seconds, neither said anything. The silence became too much for Arnold and he looked at her with a mixture of worry and annoyance.

"Helga, something is wrong. Please, tell me what's bothering you." His voice was soft, but his tone was desperate.

Helga looked straight ahead as she responded, her face betraying no emotion. "I'm surprised you're so concerned with my feelings now. A few minutes ago, it seemed like all you cared about was your own self-respect."

"What? Look Helga, if I upset you somehow, then say it. I want you to be honest with me about your feelings."

Helga turned to him and although her affect remained flat, her tone carried a new curtness. "Alright Arnold. Since you want honesty, I'll just cut to the chase. Do you really love me?"

Arnold recoiled as if Helga had slugged him. Shock, confusion, sadness and anger assaulted him simultaneously. When he recovered enough to answer, his voice came out in a harsh whisper.

"Of course I love you! How can you even think of asking me that question?"

"Because Arnold, I heard you when Gerald walked in on you kissing me. You said that your lips were on mine as a token of gratitude. That's what you did to upset me and it upset me for three reasons. First, that explanation doesn't even make sense and it's an insult to my intelligence. You don't kiss someone on the lips as a way of saying thanks. On the cheek maybe, but not the lips. Second, you came up with that lie way too quickly and said it way too calmly which leads me to reason number three. You lied about the reason you kissed me and as a result denied that you had any feelings for me. You did it easily, to your best friend, mere _seconds a_fter you told me that you loved me. Given all that, is it really so hard to see why I would ask you if your profession was genuine? If you lied so readily to Gerald about your feelings, how do I know you weren't lying to me too?"

Arnold cast his gaze down, too ashamed to look her in the eye. He didn't dare apologize, as it would only anger her more. "I'm not going to try to defend what I did or try to apologize for my lack of judgment and courage because there's no way I can do either of those things."

"So I'll ask you again, do you really love me?"

Arnold looked up at her, his expression serious. He grabbed her hand again (her right one this time) and stood up, pulling Helga up with him. He walked into the middle of the aisle with Helga following. Arnold turned around and grabbed her other hand before looking into her eyes. By this time, the other passengers were looking on, some in surprise, others in suspense, all in confusion.

Helga was among those confused by Arnold's sudden actions. "Arnold, what are you doing?"

"You asked me if I was telling the truth when I said I loved you. Here's my answer."

Before she could react, Arnold's lips were on hers again, hard. Gasps were heard from almost everyone. Once the initial shock wore off, Helga's eyes fluttered closed and she kissed back. They held the kiss for a few seconds before Arnold pulled away, the seriousness never leaving his face.

"Yes, I love you. I wasn't lying the first time I said it and I'm not lying now. I. Love. You. Helga G. Pataki."

Helga didn't reciprocate his declaration. She didn't need to. Arnold already knew what her feelings were and now she was sure of his. Instead, she smiled and mouthed the words "Thank you".

Arnold smiled back and led her back to their seats.

"Ladies and Gentleman, please fasten your seatbelts; we're preparing for takeoff," the pilot said.

The plane was in the sky within minutes heading back to Hillwood.

Arnold and Helga heard mummers and whispers from all around, but didn't pay them any attention. Like Stella had said, all that mattered was how they felt about each other. She loved him; he loved her and that was all either of them needed to know.

Arnold's grandparents were smiling. They knew it was only a matter of time before the football-headed boy fell for his former tormentor. It seemed to always skip a generation in the Shortman family. The sons fell for nice girls; the grandsons fell for mean girls.

Phil turned to his wife. "It's amazing isn't it? We used to be just like them when we were kids. You were the bully and I was your favorite victim."

"Yes, I remember," Gertrude said. "The only difference was that you fought back when you could."

"Well, my father raised me with the old adage, "an eye for an eye" or in my case, "a push for a push". We raised Arnold on the philosophy of "turn the other cheek"."

"Maybe you did, but I taught him how to fight."

"Yeah, and I told you it was a bad idea. Goes against the boy's nature."

"He knows when to use his skills and when not to, Phil."

"I suppose. By the way pookie, you owe me a hundred bucks."

"For what?"

"You remember when Arnold turned four and you bet me that he wouldn't fall for that girl with the unibrow until after he hit puberty? I said it would happen before then. I was right, so pay up when we get home."

"I can't believe you even remember that old wager."

"I never forget a bet, pookie."


	14. Burden

Hi everyone. First of all, I just wanna say that I'm so happy for the positive response I've gotten for chapter 13. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much. Read & Review.

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><p><strong>7.) The Me You See<strong>

Once the plane touched down in Hillwood, everyone's families were there to take them home. Arnold and Helga went to the boarding house, as per the living arrangement the two agreed to. Arnold had told his grandparents about it on the plane ride home and after hearing Helga's story, the two readily agreed to Helga living with them.

When they got into the house, Mr. Wyn and Ernie greeted them.

"It's good to have you all home," Mr. Wyn said.

"It's good to be back," Phil said.

"So, how was it in San Lorenzo Arnold? Did you find your parents?" Ernie asked.

"Yeah, they're fine. They decided to stay to make sure a criminal organization was put in jail."

"Criminal organization, huh? What type? Mafia? Drug smugglers?"

"Pirates," Gertrude said.

"Pirates? I thought they were gone a long time ago."

"They were river pirates. Jewel thieves really," Phil said.

"Jewel thieves? Whatever they were after must have been very valuable," Mr. Wyn said.

"Yeah, it was," Arnold said.

"So I guess Helga there is going to be living with us?" Ernie asked.

"Yeah. Short man asked us to let her live here while her parents are away," Phil said.

"Where are her parents?" Mr. Wyn asked.

Arnold looked at Helga. "Is it okay if I tell them?" She nodded.

"Her mom is in an alcoholic rehab center and her dad is in jail," he said.

"Whoa. Sorry to hear that," Ernie said. He looked at Phil. "Since she's living here, how is she gonna be on the lease?"

"We'll take care of that a little later."

"Come on Helga, let's go," Arnold said.

He held her hand and the two walked toward the kitchen.

"Are Arnold and that girl together?" Ernie asked.

"Yep, that's his girlfriend," Phil said.

"Arnold has strange choice in girls. In my country, unibrows are frowned upon in females," Mr. Wyn said.

* * *

><p>"Why are we in here?" Helga asked once they reached the kitchen.<p>

"Aren't you hungry?" Arnold asked.

"I guess so."

"What do you wanna eat?"

"It doesn't matter to me."

"Well, have a look in the fridge and see if there's anything you like. I'm gonna make some oatmeal."

While the two were focused on their tasks, Mr. Kakashka came in.

"Oh hello Arnold. Good to see you again. Who's your friend?"

"Mr. Kakashka, this is Helga. I introduced her to you before I left for San Lorenzo, remember?"

"Oh right, you're the girl with the unibrow. What was it like in the jungle?"

"Great, aside from the fact that I came close to death twice."

"Well, you're alive so everything's okay."

Mr. Kakashka left and Helga looked over at Arnold.

"That reminds me, there's something I wanna tell you."

"What is it?"

"Your grandparents told me that you gave me CPR when I was passed out from that poison. Thanks." She smiled at him.

"You're welcome, but you don't need to thank me. I love you so of course I wasn't gonna let you die."

Helga took a grapefruit out of the refrigerator and put it on the table before getting a knife out of one of the drawers.

"Is that all you're going to have?" Arnold asked.

"This is enough. I'm not that hungry," Helga said.

"Okay."

Arnold took his oatmeal out of the microwave and sat across the table from Helga.

"You know Helga, there's something I need to thank you for too."

"What's that?" she asked.

"Saving my mom. When La Sombra was going to stab her, I was paralyzed with fear. I couldn't do anything. You just jumped on him like it was no big deal. You saved her life and I can't thank you enough for that."

"I had to do something. I would've felt guilty for the rest of my life if I just let your parents get killed. It's why I let you fight even though I was afraid of you getting hurt. I didn't want you to hate me for not letting you help your parents."

"Hate you? Helga, I could never hate you."

"Really? So you're telling me that if I held you back from fighting and La Sombra ended up killing your mom and dad, you wouldn't hate my guts for the rest of your life?"

"No, because you would've done it to protect me. Would I have been angry with you for a long time? Hell yeah, but I wouldn't hate you for it. I _love _you so there's no way hating you would ever cross my mind."

Helga smiled. "That's good to know."

"You would never hate me, right?"

"Football head, if I thought myself capable of hating you, we never would've become friends in the first place, no matter how hard you tried."

Arnold laughed. "I guess you're right."

Once the two finished eating, they went up to Arnold's room. Arnold sat on the bed while Helga sat on the floor.

"So you think you'll like living here?" Arnold asked.

"Well, Mr. Wyn and Mr. Kakashka are weird but other than that, I think I'll adjust just fine," Helga said.

"That's good."

Arnold's grandfather came in at that moment.

"Short man, your grandma and I need to talk to you. Come into the kitchen."

"Alright grandpa." Arnold turned to Helga. "I'll be right back, okay Helga?"

"Eh, take your sweet time, football head," Helga said, smiling at him.

Arnold smiled back and kissed her on the cheek before heading out the door.

Arnold's grandparents were sitting at the kitchen table when Arnold came in.

"Sit down Arnold. We need to discuss something important," Gertrude said.

"What's going on?" Arnold asked.

"Arnold, you know we don't mind your little friend living here since she doesn't have a place to stay," Phil said.

"Grandpa, she's my girlfriend now. You can say it."

"Eh, you're barely into double digits short man, so I think you're a little young to be calling her your girlfriend. But more to the point, I just finished talking with the landlord on the phone and with her being here, your grandma and I will have to pay a higher portion of the rent since she's a part of our family unit on the lease."

"How much is the rent gonna be?" Arnold asked.

"About a hundred and fifty dollars more." Gertrude said.

"Oh. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Well, it's going to cut into a bigger chunk of the pension I get from being an ex-cop, but we should have enough left over to pay for food and gas."

"I can get a part time job if we need it," Arnold said.

"Arnold, you're ten; you don't need to be working," Gertrude said.

"We'll be alright short man; we just wanted you to be aware," Phil said.

Arnold nodded. He stood up and was heading toward the door when he caught a glimpse of retreating yellow.

"Helga?"

Arnold turned the corner and sure enough, Helga was walking back toward the attic. Arnold sighed. She had probably overheard their conversation and he had a good idea what was going through her mind. He called her name and she stopped. Arnold walked over to her.

"How much did you hear?" Arnold asked.

"I came in just about the time your grandpa said you're too young to be calling me your girlfriend," Helga answered.

Arnold blushed slightly. "Are you okay?"

"No Arnold, I'm not. This is exactly what I was afraid would happen."

"Helga, my grandpa said we'll be fine. You don't need to worry,"

"Arnold, you don't have to do this for me."

"Actually, I do. We already agreed to this before we went to San Lorenzo, remember?"

"I know, but-"

"Helga, what did I tell you last time we talked about this? No buts."

"But I told you, I didn't want to be a burden on you and that's exactly what's happening."

Arnold's eyes narrowed immediately. There was that word again. Burden. He was really beginning to hate that word.

"How many times do I have to tell you, you are NOT a burden?! If I hear you call yourself that again, I will lock you in my room until you get the notion out of your head. Now you listen to me and you listen good. I love you and because I love you, I will do whatever I can to make sure that you are safe and happy. The money is not a problem. We'll be fine so don't worry about it anymore. I don't want to hear the word burden come out of your mouth for the rest of your time here, understand?"

Helga sighed but smiled at Arnold in spite of herself. "Yeah, I understand."

* * *

><p>Later that day, Helga went looking for Arnold's grandfather and found him outside Mr. Kakashka's room.<p>

"Um…Phil, where can I find a coat? It's kind of windy outside."

"Eh? Where are you going?" Phil asked.

"I'm going to visit Phoebe."

"Well, you can probably find a coat hanging in the laundry room. Pookie just finished washing a load of laundry and I think there were a couple coats in there."

"Thanks."

Once Helga got a coat on she went back up to Arnold's room and stuck her head in the door.

"Arnold, I'm going to Phoebe's house for a while."

"Oh. Okay, just be back before sundown."

"I will. I only plan on staying a couple hours."

* * *

><p>Helga knocked on the door of the Heyerdahl household and her father answered.<p>

"Oh hello Helga. I assume you're here to see Phoebe."

"Yes, Mr. Heyerdahl. Is she in?"

"Yes. I'll get her for you."

He called for Phoebe and she came to the door.

"Hello Helga. How are you?" she asked, smiling at Helga.

"I have a problem Phebes and I need someone to talk to."

"Of course Helga. Come to my room."

Helga nodded and the two went into Phoebe's bedroom.

"So what did you need to talk about?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm living with Arnold and-"

"Wait, you're living with Arnold? When did this happen?"

"He and I agreed that if no one was at my house to take care of me once we got back from San Lorenzo that I would move into the boarding house with him and his family."

"Okay. What's the problem?"

"With me on the lease, Arnold's grandparents have to pay a higher rent. I told him I didn't be a burden on him and his family and that's what happened."

"Helga, I highly doubt Arnold or his grandparents view you as a burden if they agreed to let you live there."

"But they have to take on the financial responsibility for me being in the house and since I can't do anything to alleviate that responsibility, I'm a burden. It doesn't matter whether or not they think so.

"Yes, it does matter. Arnold loves you and I'm sure he wouldn't like you viewing yourself as a burden when he willingly took you in to help you."

"That's an understatement Phebes. He told me he doesn't want me to say the word 'burden' for as long as I'm there."

"You see? Arnold is probably happy to have you living there with him."

"But I feel like I have to do something to pull my own weight," Helga said.

"Alright, then ask if you can do chores or buy groceries. Do whatever you can to help out around the house. Just try to be discreet about it, because I think Arnold would be able to tell if you're being too eager and he'll know why."

Helga smiled at her best friend. "Thanks Phoebe. That's what I'll do."


	15. Beautiful

Here's chapter 15. I hope you enjoy it. Read & Review.

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><p><strong>7.) The Me You See<strong>

From that day on, Helga followed Phoebe's advice and took every opportunity to do chores or help out the boarders, whether it was heavy lifting of boxes, changing light bulbs, bringing in groceries, reaching certain objects; anything she could do to be useful. Arnold noticed her willingness to help out, but he never said anything to her about it, except for thanking her occasionally if she was helping out his grandparents.

In Helga's first week at the boarding house, she went back and forth between there and her house a total of four times in three days to move her stuff into her new living quarters. Arnold went with her a couple times to help. She got her clothes first (which Arnold helped her with), then her sleeping bag. The last time she went over to the family home, Arnold went with her because she said there were some heavy boxes to move. It was early in the afternoon on a Thursday.

"You know Helga, this is only the third time I've ever been in your house," Arnold said once they got in the door.

"Sheesh Arnoldo, hasn't the awe worn off yet? It's nothing special," Helga said.

"It's just that you're living at my house full time and I've barely seen the inside of yours."

"Well, I don't want to be in this house any longer than I have to."

Arnold nodded and they went up to Helga's room.

"Hey Helga, I just thought of something. Since no one's living here anymore, what's gonna happen to the house? Is it going to be repossessed?"

"Nah. Big Bob finished paying for it years ago and the title is in his name. It'll just sit here until Miriam gets out of rehab or someone else comes to buy it; whichever comes first."

"Speaking of Bob, what's gonna happen to his business now that he's locked up?"

"The second in command will run it until he gets back."

Helga went over to the closet, which was empty now except for four large boxes on the floor. The Arnold shrine that was once there had been thrown away on the first day Helga came back to the house before Arnold himself could see it.

"What's in the boxes?" Arnold asked.

"My poetry," she answered.

"Poetry? How can poetry fill up all those boxes?"

"I've filled dozens of notebooks with poems, Arnold. That's how. I started writing poetry when I was four."

"And all those poems are about me?" he asked.

"Well not _all _of them, but the vast majority, yes."

"Wow…"

"I know what you're thinking. It's the hallmark of an obsessed freak."

"No! I think it's flattering and very sweet, actually."

"Really?" He nodded.

The two got a box each and took them downstairs before putting them in a wagon they brought from the boarding house. They went and got the last two boxes and put them in the wagon as well.

"So, are we ready to go?" Arnold asked.

"Almost. I still need to get one more thing," Helga said.

She went back upstairs and two minutes later came back with a small pink book tucked under her arm.

"What's that?" Arnold asked.

"My diary and let me make one thing clear. I don't care that you're my boyfriend now; you are NOT allowed to look in this book!"

"Helga, come on. Do you really think I would violate your privacy like that?"

Her angry expression softened. "Sorry. I know you wouldn't. I guess old habits die hard."

"That's okay."

"I'll carry the wagon back to the boarding house," she said.

"No, I'll do it. You're carrying that book."

"I've got one free hand. I can do it."

"I don't want you straining yourself. It's okay, really."

"Arnold, it's my stuff and I don't want you to have to lug it."

"I don't mind. I came over here to help you move your things. This is just part of that."

"At least let me help you pull the wagon. Those boxes are heavy."

"I can do it myself."

"But I don't want you doing it by yourself," she said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because I'd feel like I was taking advantage of you."

"Helga, stop it. You're not taking advantage of me. I want to do this for you. Why are you so reluctant to accept my help?"

"Because I don't deserve it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Arnold, you've done so much for me in the last couple of months and I can't give you anything in return."

"Helga, you don't have to do anything to repay me. You saved my life and my mother's life. Add that to what you did last summer by helping me save the neighborhood and you've done enough for me to last a lifetime. If you never do another thing for me in your life, you've already done more than enough."

"But still, I feel like I have to do something to show my appreciation for all your help. If I don't do anything, I'll feel like an opportunist and a –"

"Don't say it!" Arnold glared at her, knowing the next word she was likely going to say.

"Well I'm sorry, but that's how I feel!" Helga said, frustration in her voice.

"Helga, understand something. You're not making me do any of the things I do for you. I do them because I love you. And after what you did for me in San Lorenzo, you deserve everything I can possibly give you."

Arnold smiled and Helga smiled back.

"You know, I'm incredibly lucky to have you in my life. You're a wonderful kid, Arnoldo."

"Thanks Helga, but you're a great person too."

"Eh, don't oversell it. I'm good I guess, but I'm not great."

"Well I think you are."

Helga gave a dismissive wave of her hand before putting her diary in the wagon and grabbling hold of the handle.

"By the way, I'm helping you pull this, whether you like it or not," she said, looking back at him.

Arnold smiled and shook his head. "Helga…"

* * *

><p>Even though Helga didn't refer to herself as a burden anymore, she still talked lowly about herself while exalting his virtues and it frustrated Arnold to no end, who tried to make her see that she was as good a person as anyone. After two weeks of her living at the boarding house, Arnold felt like he had to get his frustration off his chest and there was only one person he felt he could talk to.<p>

It was the third Saturday of Helga living there and Arnold picked up the hallway phone before dialing a very familiar number.

"Hello?" a voice said.

"Gerald, I need to talk to you. Meet me in the park in twenty minutes."

"Alright man…"

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, Arnold had arrived and sat on one of the park benches and a minute later, he saw Gerald walking up to him. He sat down next to Arnold.<p>

"Hey Arnold. What's going on?" Gerald asked.

"I was just thinking about Helga," he said.

"Man, is there any amount of time where you're NOT thinking about Helga?" he asked.

"Well, can you blame me? She's been a part of my life ever since we met and when you fall in love with someone, you can't help but think about them."

Gerald sighed. "So, why is she on your mind this time?"

"She's been living at the boarding house for two weeks now and all things considered, it's going really well. She gets along with most of the tenants, helps out my grandparents whenever she can, and I've gotta admit, it's great getting to spend so much personal time with her."

Gerald rolled his eyes at Arnold's last statement. "That doesn't really answer my question."

"It's just…she makes me so angry sometimes!" Arnold said.

"Oh boy…what does she do to you?" Gerald asked.

"Nothing. It's not anything she does, it's what she says."

"What does she say? That you're a terrible boyfriend?"

"No. It's the exact opposite actually. She thinks I'm the best boyfriend in the world."

"So, I don't get it. How does she make you mad?"

"It's what she says about herself. She doesn't think she deserves me as a boyfriend. She worries about being a financial burden on my family. She doesn't _say _it anymore because I told her not to, but I know it's on her mind. It's why she's so eager to help my grandparents."

"Why does that make you angry?"

"Because she's wrong! Helga only focuses on what she's done _to _me in the past and I have to constantly remind her of what she's done _for _me. She's…so amazing, Gerald," he said, his expression turning lovestuck.

_Here it comes… _Gerald thought rolling his eyes.

"I mean, besides the fact that she's the strongest girl I know and is unbelievably artistic as a writer. Did I tell you that she showed me some of her poetry? For someone whose only ten years old, she could rival a lot of adult poets. And as I'm sure you know, she's also one hell of a fighter."

"Well man, so are you. I saw you when we were San Lorenzo kicking all kinds of butt."

"Eh…I guess I'm pretty good, but not as good as Helga. She's also really athletic and so smart. I mean, she knows things about psychology, she's very well-read according to Dr. Bliss, and she got a perfect score on that aptitude test we took in fourth grade-"

"Yeah, I remember that," Gerald said.

"But it's not just her talent that made me fall in love with her...it's her heart. She keeps it hidden, but she's got such a big, loving heart, Gerald. She's done so much for me that I never even had a clue of until we got together."

"Like what?" Gerald asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, do you remember last year during the annual spelling bee?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah. Helga lost by getting the word 'qualm' wrong. Kinda weird if you ask me. It's not that hard of a word."

"I know. She lost on purpose. She knew that word like the back of her hand. Her dad had told her how to spell it a million times."

"Why would she lose on purpose?"

"So I could win. That and to spite her dad."

"I admit, I'm surprised. Anything else come to mind?"

"Yeah. This is something that may be familiar to you. Do you remember 'Deep Voice' from when we saved the neighborhood last summer? Guess who it was."

"You're kidding…"

"Nope. It was Helga."

"And she did it for your sake?"

"She did," Arnold said smiling.

"Wow…she really _does _love you."

"And I love her too…and that's why I HATE it when she talks down about herself! She's a wonderful girl with a wonderful heart and I want…I wish she could see herself the way _I _do, the way she really is. I think on a certain level, she realizes what a great person she is, but for some reason, she just doesn't want to acknowledge it, even around me, the person who cares about her the most."

"Well, if you really want to know, why not just ask her? Since you two are together now, I'm sure she'll tell you," Gerald said.

"Can it really be that easy?"

"You never know if you don't try."

"I guess I've got nothing to lose. Thanks for the advice."

"Anytime, Arnold."

* * *

><p>Later that day, when Arnold returned to the boarding house, he found Helga lying on the living room couch, asleep. He smiled at her still form.<p>

_She looks so cute. I almost don't have the heart to wake her._

He went over to her and gently shook her. She stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

"A-Arnold?" she asked, sleep still heavy in her voice.

"Hey. Sorry to wake you, but there's something I want to talk to you about."

"Can this wait till later? I'm actually pretty tired."

Arnold thought about it and realized that it would be better to discuss his concerns with Helga when she was well rested and not likely to be irritable.

"Alright, you can go back to sleep. When you wake up, come up to my room, okay?"

Helga nodded and Arnold left her to her nap.

About an hour later, Helga awoke and remembering what Arnold told her, headed up to his room.

"Hey Arnold," she greeted smiling at her boyfriend.

"Hi Helga. How was your nap?"

"Good. I feel refreshed. So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Come sit by me."

Helga did as he asked and sat next to him on his bed. Arnold turned to her, his expression tense.

"Helga, you know I love you right?"

"Yes Arnoldo, you tell me that multiple times every day."

"And you know that I love you unconditionally, flaws and all."

"Yes. Where are you going with this?"

Arnold hesitated, wondering how best to proceed. After thinking it over for a few seconds, he decided to just be straight-forward.

"Ever since we got back from San Lorenzo, I've noticed a tendency for you to talk down about yourself. You imply that you're undeserving of me, you constantly bring up your bullying me as if it matters now when it doesn't and when I try to tell you how great I think you are, you brush me off as if I'm exaggerating or lying. I don't get it. You're an amazingly talented and kind-hearted girl, yet you act as if there's not a good bone in your body when we both know that's not true. I want to know why."

Helga was taken aback. She didn't realize that the ways she characterized herself bothered him so much. She sighed. She didn't know how she could explain it to him without upsetting him more.

"Arnold, you are probably the most pure-hearted kid on the planet and let's face it, compared to you, I just don't measure up. No matter how good you think I am, I'm not as good as you."

"Why are you even comparing yourself to me?" he asked, looking at her in frustration and confusion.

"Because you deserve someone with a heart as pure as your own and that's not me."

Arnold almost flew off the handle in anger right then. He was continuously amazed at Helga's ability to make him completely lose control of his emotions. After taking several deep breaths, he spoke again.

"Helga…I know you. The real you, the person inside. I've seen what you're willing to do for people that you care about. So when I say that your heart is just as pure as mine or anyone else's, I mean it. You know that you have a good heart. Why do you deny it?"

"I don't deny that I have good in me, I just don't think it's enough to make me worthy of someone like you."

Arnold took her chin in his right hand and lifted her face up so she was looking him in his eyes. "I'll be the judge of that. You don't get to decide who's 'worthy' of being with me. I decide who I want to be with based on how I feel about them. And I've decided that I want to be with you because of the love I have for you. So it doesn't matter whether you think you're good enough for me or not. I say you are. I say that you are kind, loyal, giving, and warm because I've _seen _it. Need I remind you of all you did for me in San Lorenzo, or last summer, or last year in school?"

Helga smiled at Arnold. "There's one other timeframe you're forgetting," she said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Do you remember last Christmas?"

"What about it?"

"What was it that you wanted to get most?"

"For me or for someone else?"

"Someone else," she replied.

"I wanted to help Mr. Wyn find his daughter."

"And did you accomplish that task?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it was a miracle that I did. The guy at the missing person's agency wanted Nancy Spamoni snow-boots and there were none left in the whole city so he refused to search for her. I have no idea why he changed his mind."

"Well, it just so happens that that missing person agent got his snow-boots at the last minute."

"From who?" Arnold asked.

Smiling wider, Helga said, "I'll give you one guess."

As realization dawned on him, Arnold's eyes widened in shock. "You didn't…"

"I did. My mom got the last pair for me as a Christmas present and when I heard about what you were trying to do, I realized making you and by extension Mr. Wyn happy was more important than getting a fancy pair of snow-boots."

Arnold was so overwhelmed that he kissed Helga without warning. Surprised at first, she soon relaxed and returned it. Arnold deepened the kiss slightly and it was several seconds before he pulled away, smiling from ear to ear.

"And you still wanna try to tell me that you're _not _one of the most loving people I've ever met? I think I've fallen in love with you all over again."

Helga smiled shyly. "Well, I guess I'm a _little_ _bit _more of a good person than I give myself credit for."

"Screw a little bit. You are a _wonderful _person. You know it and I know it so from now on, I don't wanna hear any more of this 'unworthy' crap from you and when I tell you that you're a great girl, take it for the truth because it _is _the truth. Are we clear?"

"Yes captain," she said sarcastically.

"There's still one thing I don't understand. Why were you so reluctant to acknowledge the real you?"

"Because the real me never got any recognition. I've told you how crappy my family life is and hardly anyone acknowledged my talents at school. Of course, I couldn't be nice as I had a reputation to uphold. The real me didn't matter to anyone but Phoebe, so I figured, why even bother admitting that person's existence, let alone showing that person to others?"

"I get why you wouldn't let it show around others, but why not me?"

"To be honest, I had gotten to the point where I didn't think happiness would ever come my way. I didn't think life could be this good…and it's gonna take some getting used to. I never had a reason to show my real self until now and it's kinda scary leaving myself vulnerable, even around you."

"Well, you've got three and half months to get used to your new quality of life here and I'll do my best to help you make the adjustment as soon as possible."

"Thanks, Arnold."

"Don't mention it. I know it's scary leaving yourself open, but you know I would never hurt you."

"Yeah I know. "

They sat there in a comfortable silence for several moments before Phil came in and announced that dinner was ready. Still smiling at each other, Arnold and Helga held hands as they walked out of Arnold's room and toward the kitchen.


	16. Private Matters

Hello everyone. Sorry for the lag in updating. Here's chapter 16. Hope you enjoy it. Read & Review.

Note: I edited this chapter down quite a bit because I realized part of it was inconsistent with information in Chapter 15.

* * *

><p><strong>8.) Home<strong>

Helga quickly adjusted to life in the boarding house. She and Arnold went on dates at least once every week and as a result, their classmates got confirmation that the two were actually together. As the first day of sixth grade approached, Helga seemed to become increasingly anxious and Arnold became increasingly worried for her. At first, he thought she was just nervous about going to sixth grade, but a week before school, her anxiety peaked.

On Monday night of that week, seven days before the start of the new school year, Arnold waited for Helga to come in for the night.

"Helga, come here," Arnold said when he saw her walk through the door. "I want to talk to you."

"What about?" Helga asked as she sat down next to him on the bed.

"I noticed that you seem to be worried about starting school and I was just wondering what was bothering you."

Helga looked away from him and his worry spiked.

"Helga, what's wrong? Tell me."

"It's stupid…" she said softly.

"If it's upsetting you this much, it's not stupid. Now tell me what's wrong."

"I'm worried about the other kids finding out about this."

"What, you mean the fact that we're together?"

"No, they already know that. I mean the fact that I'm living with you."

"Why would that worry you?" Arnold asked.

"Because then they'll start asking _why _I'm living here and I don't want anyone knowing about my family problems."

"Oh. Well, if it's what you want, I won't say anything about our living situation."

"Thanks Arnold."

"You're welcome. And I should tell you, I told Gerald you were living here but he won't say anything since he has no reason to tell the others."

"And I told Phoebe but she knows that anything I tell her concerning you is to kept confidential so I know I can trust her."

"So, do you feel better now?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah. Thanks again."

"Don't mention it."

"You know, I just realized something. It's a week before school starts and neither of us has gotten school supplies yet," Helga said.

"You're right. Let's make a list of what we're gonna need."

Arnold took out a small notebook from his backpack and opened it to a blank page.

"Get the pencil from my desk," Arnold told Helga.

"No need. I always carry my purple pen with me," she said.

She reached into her pocket and pulled it out before handing it to Arnold.

"Alright, so I need some new pencils, highlighters, a portable pencil sharpener, spiral notebooks, and a binder. I think that's it," Arnold said. "What do you need Helga?"

"A new backpack, pencil sharpener, a five subject notebook, and a binder. Same as you for the most part."

Arnold wrote down the items and then handed the pen back to Helga.

"Alright, I'll put this list up and then I guess we can go to bed."

Helga nodded and got into her sleeping bag.

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep in the bed? There's enough room and I don't mind," Arnold said, as he put the notebook in his backpack.

"Arnold, we've been over this about two dozen times. I'm perfectly okay sleeping here and I don't want to intrude. It's your bed; you're the one that's supposed to sleep in it."

"Yeah, but like I said, as long as you're living here, everything that's mine is yours too. I just think you'll be more comfortable in a bed, that's all."

"I get it, but I still think it wouldn't be fair." _Besides, it would feel way too weird sleeping in the same bed as my boyfriend._

"If you say so…"

Arnold climbed into the covers and clapped his hands twice. All the lights went off in the room.

"Goodnight Helga," he said.

"Goodnight Arnold."

* * *

><p>The next day, Arnold asked his grandfather to take him and Helga to the mall. Phil agreed and gave them both fifty dollars for supplies. Once they got there, Arnold took Helga's hand and they went inside. They found a large section of the store for back-to-school supplies and went over. As they checked items off their list, Helga realized something wasn't there.<p>

"Arnold, I'm gonna go get a backpack and I'll meet you at the checkout."

"Okay. I'll get what you need from here so we can save time."

As Helga walked into another store, Sid, along with his mother, walked up to Arnold.

"Hey Arnold. Did I just see Helga walking away?"

"Yeah, you did."

"Is she here with you?" he asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, why aren't her parents with her? And where are your grandparents?"

"My grandpa drove us over here. He's waiting out in the car."

"Couldn't her mom or dad have taken her over here?"

"I called her mom and asked if it would be okay if she went school shopping with me," Arnold said nonchalantly.

"Why would you go through so much trouble?" Sid asked.

"Because she's my girlfriend and I want to spend time with her. Is that a problem?"

"No. It's just a little weird. Where'd Helga go?"

"She went to get a backpack. She said she'd meet me at the register."

Sid shrugged his shoulders and started gathering supplies next to Arnold.

When Helga came back, Sid had already left. Arnold was waiting by the register.

"Sorry Arnold. Were you waiting a long time?" she asked.

"No. You were only gone about ten minutes. By the way, Sid came in while you were gone."

"Yeah, I saw him."

"He asked why your parents aren't here with you."

"What did you tell him?"

"I said that I called your mom and she let you come to the mall with me."

Helga sighed in relief. "Okay. Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

><p>When school started, Arnold and Helga were open about their relationship and the other kids didn't say much about it aside from expressing occasional surprise that the two were together. They walked to and from school and most didn't give any thought to it. Sid however, grew suspicious when the first week of school passed and Helga came to school every day with Arnold because as far as he knew, Helga usually came to school with her mother.<p>

Normally, it wouldn't matter to him what Helga did, but after what happened at the mall, Sid's interest was piqued. He told Gerald about his suspicions. Gerald, knowing the reason behind Arnold and Helga's actions, agreed to talk to them about it, but not for the reason Sid thought. The Monday of the second week of school, Gerald sat with Arnold, Helga and Phoebe.

"Hey Arnold, Sid noticed that you and Helga have been walking to school every day for the past week and he was wondering why that is. What do you want me to tell him?"

"Tell him to buzz off," Helga interjected.

"Gerald, Helga doesn't want anyone knowing about the problems she's having with her family so she would rather no one know that she's living in the boarding house," Arnold said.

"Besides, why is it any of Sid's business?" Helga asked.

"Well Helga, he made the observation that you usually come to school with your mom so it's kinda strange that you're suddenly walking to school with Arnold."

"Well then, Sid needs to get his facts straight. It's true, my mom did drive me to school on occasion, but I usually walk to school."

"Alright, but I don't recall you ever walking to school with Arnold before. In fact, you're usually here after Arnold and me. How are you gonna explain that?"

"We weren't boyfriend and girlfriend last year and it just so happens that we end up meeting each other on our way to school. Our houses aren't that far apart," Arnold said.

Gerald raised an eyebrow at the explanation but let the matter drop. "Alright man. Whatever you say."

* * *

><p>Later that day, Sid met Gerald during passing period.<p>

"What did Arnold say?" he asked.

"He told me that he and Helga just happen to meet up on their way to school since their houses aren't far apart," Gerald said.

"He's lying. That's too much of a coincidence."

"You may be right, but how are you gonna prove it?"

"We need to follow Helga and Arnold when they leave school. Since they walk home every day, wherever they go will be the place that Helga walks to school from."

"Hold on a minute, what do you mean 'we'? Why do I have to be involved?"

"Dude, aren't you curious? Arnold isn't the type to be dodgy. There has to be a reason."

"Sid, Arnold's not good at lying. If he's trying to hide something, I'll find out about it soon enough."

"Why not find out now? We can follow them tomorrow when school lets out."

"I'm not going to spy on my best friend," Gerald said.

"Fine, then I'll go by myself," Sid said.

* * *

><p>On Wednesday after school let out, Arnold and Helga walked out of the building together and turned the corner, heading down the sidewalk. Gerald and Sid watched the two from a distance and once they were out of sight, began to follow.<p>

"How are you gonna tail them without them knowing?" Gerald asked Sid before he got too far.

"Simple. I'll go to the other side of the street and use buildings for cover," Sid said.

"Alright, but I hope you know what you're doing. If you get caught, Helga is gonna kill you."

"Nah. Arnold won't let her."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Sid went to the other side of the street and got behind the nearest building. Once the two were a few feet ahead of them, he moved to the next building and continued this pattern as they went along, moving across the street at turns in the road.

"It looks they're headed towards the boarding house," Sid said to himself. "Then again, Arnold's house is on the way to Helga's house so I'd better keep following."

Arnold and Helga remained oblivious as Sid followed them to the boarding house. Once they reached their destination, they stopped and talked for a few seconds before going inside.

_That's it; I'm getting to the bottom of this._

Sid went up the steps and knocked on the door. Phil answered.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Sid and I'm one of Arnold's classmates. I went with you to San Lorenzo remember?"

"Not really, but if you're one of Arnold's friends, then I guess you can come in."

Sid nodded and went down the hall. Phil used the remote control to open the attic and Sid went up the stairs to Arnold's door. Finding it unlocked, he went in and saw Arnold and Helga cuddling on the bed.

"Alright, what's going on here?" Sid asked the two.

"Sid, what are you doing here?" Arnold asked, giving the boy a slight glare.

"I should be asking Helga that question. What is _she _doing here?"

"What business is it of yours? She's my girlfriend; she can be over here anytime she wants."

"Answer me this then. Have you two been walking here from school every day for the past week?"

"Yes. So what?"

"Why?"

"Because she comes over here every day. We walk here and then she goes home later in the day."

"And her parents allow that?"

"My parents don't care as long as I'm home by curfew," Helga said.

Sid looked down, thinking over what they'd said.

_Their explanation seems plausible, but I still feel like they're hiding something._

"What about you two walking to school together? And don't tell me you just happen to meet up because that's too much of a coincidence."

Arnold and Helga looked at each other, both realizing that the explanation was farfetched.

"Well, I'm waiting," Sid said.

"Helga leaves her house early and meets me at the boarding house so we can walk to school together," Arnold said.

"Are you serious? How does she know when you leave for school?"

"We've been together for three months, Sid. She knows my schedule."

"But why would she go through the trouble of waking up early just so she could walk to school with you?"

"Because I want to spend time with him in whatever way I can," Helga said.

"You want to be with him that badly?" Sid asked.

"Boy, you have no idea," Helga said.

"She's right, you don't," Arnold agreed. "Now, if you're done interrogating us, would you kindly walk out of this room, go down the hall and walk out the front door?"

"Your curiosity has been satisfied, hasn't it?" Helga asked.

"I guess…" Sid said.

He gave the two one last suspicious look before doing as Arnold said and walking out the door.

"You don't think I'll have to actually go home and stay inside that empty house to keep this story going, do you?" Helga asked Arnold.

"Of course not. Sid won't be bothering us anymore. And this is your home now, at least for the next month or so."

"Thanks for letting me live here Arnold," she said, giving him a smile.

"Helga, you don't have to thank me. I wanted to do it to help you. Besides, it's been great having you all to myself."

"Oh? Am I detecting a little bit of possessiveness, football head?" She had a teasing smile on her face.

Arnold got nose to nose with her and smirked. "You have no idea."

Helga laughed. "Well, I must say, I'm flattered."

"So, what do you want to do?" Arnold asked.

"How about we go to the ice cream shop? For some reason, I've got a craving for ice cream today."

"Alright. Let me get some of my allowance money and then we can go."

"I can pay for it," Helga said.

"No. I'm the boyfriend. I'm supposed to treat you, not the other way around," Arnold said.

"Arnold-"

Arnold stopped her by putting his finger to her lips but he was smiling.

"I'm paying and that's final. It's okay."

Helga smiled and Arnold took his finger off her lips. No sooner did he do so than Helga had her lips on his. After a few seconds, she pulled away.

"I love you football head."

"I love you too. Let's go."


	17. Helga's Departure

So sorry for not updating, everyone. I finally got this chapter finished. The next won't take as long. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Read and Review.

* * *

><p><strong>8.) Home<strong>

As August gave way to September, Arnold and Helga became increasingly pensive and the other students noticed. Rumors quickly began to circulate that their relationship was going south, but neither paid the talk much attention. Phoebe and Gerald however, did pay attention and decided to ask their friends what, if anything, was going on.

On Friday of the first week of September, as the bell rang for lunch period, Phoebe and Gerald caught up with Helga and Arnold as they were walking toward the cafeteria.

"Helga, Arnold, we need to talk to the two of you," Phoebe said.

"What is it this time Phoebe?" Helga asked.

"Not here, outside on the playground. That way, we'll have more privacy," she said.

As they got their plates and moved through the line, the four heard the other students talking in low voices.

"You think they'll break up?" Eugene asked Sheena.

"Honestly, I'm surprised they lasted this long. I expected them to last maybe a week or two, but they've kept this going for nearly four months," Rhonda said softly, glancing at the pair.

"Well, I think it proves that they were telling the truth when they said they loved each other," Sheena said.

"I don't know. Why have they been looking so downcast lately?" Nadine asked.

"Maybe they're just getting tired of each other," Curly whispered.

"Let's hope they work out whatever issues they're having. I hate to see couples break up ever so much," Lila said.

"Maybe they're not having any issues. If they were, we would've heard them arguing," Harold said.

"Harold's actually got a point. Helga's not one to pull punches. If she were upset with Arnold, everyone would know," Rhonda said.

"Well something is going on with those two and whatever it is, let's just hope it doesn't blow up and we start hearing them having lover's quarrels every day," Sid said.

"Amen to that. The last thing I wanna see is them bickering with each other over petty nonsense," Rhonda said.

The couple walked with their best friends out of the cafeteria without showing any reaction.

* * *

><p>"Are they any issues in your relationship that you want to tell us about?" Phoebe asked.<p>

"No, things are going fine," Helga said.

"Then what's with the melancholy attitude all of a sudden?" Gerald asked.

"Neither of us are melancholy," Arnold insisted.

"Arnold, I've seen the two of you exchange sad smiles every day for the past two weeks. You sigh constantly and Helga's a lot quieter than she usually is," Gerald said.

Arnold and Helga looked at each other and smiled sheepishly.

"I guess we were a little bit too obvious," Arnold said.

"What's up guys?" Gerald asked.

Arnold sighed and looked at Gerald and Phoebe.

"When Helga and I agreed that she would move into the boarding house, it was under the condition that none of her family was able to take care of her."

"So it was a last resort kind of thing?" Gerald asked.

"Yeah," Arnold said.

"How long was this arrangement going to be for?" Phoebe asked.

"Since my mom was going to be in rehab for four months, we assumed that's how long I'd be staying," Helga said.

"What about your sister Olga? Doesn't she usually come home for the summer?" Phoebe asked.

"Normally yes, but she said that with Bob incarcerated and Miriam in rehab, she wouldn't have enough money to support me and pay the bills because she wouldn't be working so she figured she'd just stay in Alaska."

"Couldn't she get a summer job?" Gerald asked.

"What summer job do you know that pays all the costs of living?" Helga asked.

"Point taken."

"So, what exactly is the problem?" Phoebe asked.

"Helga's mom is going to be getting out of rehab in the next couple of weeks and that means Helga is going to have to go home as soon as her mom gets a steady job. To be blunt, I kinda don't want her to go," Arnold said.

"And I don't really want to leave either," Helga said.

"You've probably just gotten used to living there," Gerald said.

"It's not just that, Gerald."

Gerald, Phoebe and Arnold all looked at Helga in surprise.

"You actually called me by my name," Gerald said.

"Well, since you're Arnold's best friend, I thought I'd better start calling you by your name since I don't think the football head would appreciate me calling you tall hair boy all the time."

Gerald looked at Arnold. "Arnold, are you sure this is the real Helga?"

"Yes."

"What? Would you prefer I go back to your old name?" Helga asked.

"No. I was just taken aback; that's all. Although now that you mention it, how come you still call Arnold 'football head'?"

"It's more of a pet name than an insult now," Arnold said.

"Anyway, living with Arnold is a hell of a lot better than living with my trainwreck of a family," Helga said, her eyes downcast and her expression crestfallen.

"But with your mom sober, things will get better right? At least as far as your relationship with her goes," Arnold said.

"I hope so. The whole reason Miriam drank was to cope with her unhappiness in being married to Big Bob so with him out of the picture, maybe she'll actually stay sober."

"Come on Helga, I know your mom being drunk probably didn't make life easy, but it wouldn't make your house unlivable," Gerald said.

"You have to remember Gerald, that Helga was also being beaten by her father last semester as well," Phoebe said.

"Okay, so I take back what I said. But you Arnold, you don't want her to leave because you like having your girlfriend so close, right?" Gerald was smirking.

"Pretty much. I like being able to spend time with her so easily."

"Well, you can still spend time together, even if she's not living in your house. You go to the same school," Phoebe said.

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>Arnold and Helga spent the rest of September enjoying each other's company like they had been. The only differences were that Helga didn't go over to Phoebe's and Arnold finally got Helga to sleep in the bed with him as a favor, though they got funny looks from Phil in the morning. In the final week of the month, Miriam was discharged from rehab and was to pick up Helga on Friday.<p>

When Friday morning came, the two greeted each other smiling like always, but they were the melancholy smiles that Gerald had been observing recently.

"So…are you ready?" Arnold asked.

She nodded.

"You got everything packed?" he asked.

"Yep," she said.

"Good…"

"I guess we should get dressed and go eat breakfast," Helga said.

"Yeah."

Each waited outside the door while the other got dressed and then they headed to the kitchen.

"Morning, short man," Phil said when he saw them.

"Morning, grandpa," Arnold said.

Helga said nothing as she poured herself a bowl of Fruit Loops.

"Good morning Arnold," Gertrude said as she walked in.

"Morning, grandma," he said with a smile.

"Pookie, you're late. What took you?" Phil asked.

"I saw a huge roach crawl out from under the bed and I had to chase it around the room before I finally nailed the sucker."

"You didn't break anything, did you?"

"Of course not. The only thing broken is that disgusting bug's carcass."

Gertrude looked to her left and noticed Helga. "Good morning dear," she said.

"Good morning," Helga said, forcing a smile.

Gertrude walked over to the refrigerator and got out an apple before sitting down at the end of the table. Helga and Arnold ate their cereal in silence before strapping their backpacks on and walking out of the kitchen.

"Arnold seemed quieter than usual this morning," Gertrude said to Phil once she was sure the kids were out of earshot.

"It's probably cause today is the last day his girlfriend is going to be staying with us," Phil said.

"I see. He wants her to stick around, huh?"

"Yep. I feel kinda bad for her actually, what with her family situation."

"Well, with a sober mother, hopefully, her situation will improve."

* * *

><p>Arnold and Helga's walk to school was just as silent as their breakfast had been. They occasionally glanced at each other, but never said anything. Both were fully aware of how awkward it was between them since neither wanted to bring up the subject of Helga leaving. When he saw PS 118 come into view, Arnold stopped and turned to his girlfriend.<p>

"Why are we stopping?" Helga asked.

"Before we go in, let's put on a happy façade for everyone so at least we won't have to hear the other kids constantly whispering about us breaking up," Arnold said.

"I thought we didn't care what the other kids said about our relationship."

"We don't, but after enduring a whole month of gossiping, it'd be nice to shut them up for one day."

"Good point," she said with a smirk.

Arnold held out his right hand to her and she took it. Smiling at each other, they walked the remaining distance to the school grounds and into the building. The other kids stared as the couple walked down the hall. When they reached their respective lockers, Phoebe walked up to Helga.

"Well, you and Arnold seem to be in better spirits," she said.

"Yeah. We realized there's no point in dwelling on me leaving so we just decided to enjoy the time we still have together in Arnold's house."

"That's a good attitude Helga."

_It's also a complete crock._

Once Helga finished putting the supplies she didn't need in her locker, she, Phoebe and Arnold went to class. When Gerald saw Arnold and Helga, he immediately noticed the difference in their countenance.

"So, it looks like you got over your melancholy spell," Gerald said to Arnold when he sat down at his desk.

"Yep. Phoebe was right; we can still visit each other and as long as I have a way to be close to her, I'm happy."

"Man, when did you get so mushy?" Gerald asked, giving Arnold a disapproving look.

"Hey, it's what love does to you."

Mr. Simons walked in a few seconds later.

"Alright class, take out your notebooks. We'll be discussing the chapters of _Pride & Prejudice _you were supposed to read from Wednesday."

As she got her notebook out, Phoebe looked over at Helga. "You know Helga, as I was reading the chapters, I couldn't help but compare your relationship with Arnold to the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. Do you see any similarities?"

"Not really Phoebe. I see a lot of similarities between Elizabeth and myself, but the dynamic she has with Darcy is really different from what Arnold and I share."

"How so?"

"Those two are always dancing around each other, both literally and figuratively. Constantly flirting with each other in a teasing and sometimes insulting manner. And that's before they get together. Nothing like Arnold and me."

"I assume you mean before you two became a couple," Phoebe said.

"Right."

"Today, we're going to split off into pairs. I want each pair of students to discuss a particular topic from the novel from what we've read so far. I'll be supplying the topics for each pair."

"Can we pick our own partners?" Sid asked.

"Of course," Mr. Simmons said, smiling.

Arnold and Helga smiled at each other knowingly. Phoebe giggled and Gerald rolled his eyes. Arnold moved his desk next to Helga's while Gerald moved his next to Phoebe.

"Hey Rhonda, you want to be my partner?" Harold asked.

"Forget it fatty, she's going to my partner!" Curly said.

"Excuse me?" Rhonda said, glaring at the shorter boy.

"Back off you crazy midget! I asked her first!" Harold said.

"She's mine!" Curly stepped on top of his desk and pointed a finger accusingly at Harold. "Foolish mortal! You have no idea of the wrath with which you trifle!"

"Curly, sit down!" Rhonda said firmly.

"But my sweet, I was merely-"

"SIT DOWN." Rhonda's voice was almost a shout and her glare had intensified.

Curly hung his head dejectedly and did as he was told.

Still glaring, Rhonda lowered her gaze to Curly's face. "Now, listen carefully. Harold did ask me to be his partner first. I might have considered being your partner had you done me the same courtesy instead of being presumptuous and behaving like a deranged lunatic. The next time you want to me to do something with you, be a little more considerate and act a little more sane."

She turned her attention to Harold and smiled. "As to your request Harold, I would love to be your partner."

Harold smiled back at her and moved his desk next to hers.

"Seems like Rhonda is the only one that can control Curly," Gerald said.

"What do you expect? The little freak is head over heels for her," Helga said.

"Oh you mean like you're head over heels for Arnold?" Gerald asked her with a smirk.

Helga scowled at him. "Watch it bucko. Just because you're Arnold's best friend, don't think I won't hesitate to clock you if you step out of line."

Gerald put his hands up defensively. "Sheesh girl, I was just teasing. Lighten up."

Helga gave him another death glare before turning her attention to Arnold. Sheena and Eugene had paired up and Nadine decided to be partners with Lila since Rhonda was unavailable. Sid and Stinky had paired up as well. Curly was partners with the only other student who wore glasses, Iggy.

Mr. Simmons surveyed the students and once he was satisfied, he gave out the topics. Arnold and Helga's topic was the significance of the title of _Pride & Prejudice_ to the relationship between Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

"Well, this should be easy. Elizabeth has a bad impression of Darcy when she first meets him and that first impression colors her view of him and what others tell her about him," Helga said.

"Right, and she's unwilling to see anything other than the bad things about him because of her stubbornness so she interprets everything she hears about him in a negative light to reinforce her initial judgment of his character," Arnold added.

Suddenly, Helga chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Arnold asked.

"I was just thinking, you were the exact opposite of Elizabeth when it came to me. Whereas she insists on only seeing the bad in Darcy, you always insisted on seeing the good in me."

Arnold smiled. "Well, my first impression of you was completely different from Elizabeth's first impression of Darcy. When I first met you, I saw a cute girl who was a little shy, but nice as far as I could tell."

Helga's expression changed to one of surprise. "You thought I was cute?" she asked.

"Yeah. In fact, I still do."

"Alright you two, you're supposed to be working, not flirting," Gerald said.

Arnold gave his best friend a playful glare. "You're not exactly one to talk Gerald. I've heard you doing some flirting of your own with Phoebe."

"I can multitask," Gerald said.

"Well so can I," Arnold said.

"Fair enough. Carry on."

"What's with his teasing all of a sudden?" Helga asked.

"He just likes giving me a hard time since he never thought we'd be together. Don't pay it any attention." Arnold said. "Anyway, we've covered Elizabeth; what about Darcy?"

"Well, Darcy is obviously trying to convince himself that he doesn't love Elizabeth because to marry her would reflect badly on his family's reputation. So his pride would come from not wanting to admit that he has feelings for her."

"But I don't see where prejudice comes in with him," Arnold said.

"I don't think there has to necessarily be prejudice on his side since Elizabeth has shown it. As long as both are present in one party, it's fine," Helga said.

"I guess you're right."

Ten minutes after they went to work, Mr. Simmons stopped his class.

"Alright class, does everyone have a response to their topic?" he asked.

Everyone answered in the affirmative so he continued.

"Good. We'll start with Rhonda and Harold. Which one would like to speak?"

"Rhonda. She's better at this than me," Harold said.

Rhonda picked up a piece of notebook paper with written notes on it.

"Our topic was the economic factor in marriage in the time period that the novel was set in. Back in the late 1700s and early 1800s, marriage wasn't based on love, but economic benefit and status. If a woman of marriageable age wanted to find a suitable husband, she needed to be wealthy in land or actual money or she had to come from a prestigious family. Men were governed by the same expectations. Good looks didn't hurt either. The goal of marriage in those days was to find someone who would give you financial security and reasonable social status. Love was secondary, if it was present at all. Charlotte and Elizabeth talk about that in the early part of the novel. Thankfully, love is a prerequisite for marriage for most in this day and age."

"Very good job Rhonda and Harold," Mr. Simmons said. "Arnold and Helga, how about you go next?"

"You can handle this one Arnoldo," Helga said.

"Alright." He cleared his throat before speaking again. "Our topic was how the title of the novel applied to the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. Pride is an attribute both display though it manifests in different ways. With Darcy, he has a lot of pride in his family name and in his own reputation so falling in love with Elizabeth is something he can't admit to. Elizabeth's pride takes the form of stubbornness in insisting on seeing only the negative in Darcy rather than the positive as well as confidence in her own judgment. Elizabeth's prejudice against Darcy comes from her first impression of him at the beginning of the book."

"Very nice, Arnold and Helga. Phoebe and Gerald, you're next," Mr. Simmons said. "Which one of you will speak?"

"I'll be the speaker, Mr. Simmons," Phoebe said.

"Alright Phoebe; whenever you're ready."

"Our topic was the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett. Their relationship is one which speaks of a failed marriage. Mr. Bennett seems to take a rather sadistic enjoyment of frazzling his wife and doesn't feel any sympathy for her easily frayed nerves. Ms. Bennett is a worry wart when it comes to marrying off her daughters and doesn't seem to be a very good mother to them, having an obsessive focus on the marriage of her daughters. This obsession is in stark contrast to Mr. Bennett who values wit and education in a daughter, which is why he prefers Elizabeth to his four other daughters. The difference between the two in personality illustrates why Mr. Bennett is unhappy in the marriage. He fell for his wife solely because of her looks and really didn't know anything about the person and once he realized how vapid and shallow she was, it was too late. The lesson is to make sure you know a person well before entering into a relationship."

"Excellent as usual Phoebe. You and Gerald did very well." Mr. Simmons said.

* * *

><p>When lunch period came around, Arnold, Helga, Gerald and Phoebe sat together as had been the custom since Arnold and Helga became a couple. They ate mostly in silence, occasionally making small talk. Once Arnold and Helga finished eating and disposed of their trays, they walked out of the cafeteria, leaving Gerald and Phoebe to themselves.<p>

"So, how do you think you'll adjust to having only one parent in the house instead of two?" Arnold asked as he and Helga walked toward their lockers.

"It'll be jarring at first since I'll expect to hear Bob yelling at Miriam about something or see him in that big recliner once I get home, but honestly, I'll prefer having just Miriam there, provided she stays sober and starts acting like a real mother."

"I was thinking that your mom could run the Beeper Emporium again while your dad's away but since the vice-president is already filling that position, what kind of job do you think she could get?"

"I'm sure she could get a position in the company or failing that, she could become a swimming instructor since she was an Olympic-class swimmer in her youth."

It was a few moments before Arnold spoke again. "…Do you think you'll be able to forgive her?" he asked.

Helga looked at Arnold in surprise for a second, but her expression quickly turned somber. "I already have. It's not her fault, at least not entirely. She neglected me, it's true, but I blame Bob more than Miriam since he's the reason she turned to drinking as a coping mechanism. I'm actually more worried about how she'll react to me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm indirectly responsible for putting Bob in jail. He may be a selfish, violent bastard but he's still her husband and I'm sure she at least still cares about him. I just hope she doesn't take any negative feelings she has about the situation out on me."

"Helga, you said yourself that she was unhappy in her marriage to Bob so I'm sure a part of her is just as happy as you are to be rid of him."

"You're probably right."

Having gathered the supplies they needed for the remainder of the day, the two headed back towards Mr. Simmons' classroom.

* * *

><p>After History class, the bell for Recess rang and the class filed out and went to the courtyardplayground.

"I'm gonna go play basketball. You wanna play?" Arnold asked Helga.

"Nah. I'm going to practice my Jujitsu," she said.

Arnold gave his girlfriend a curious look. "You're going to practice martial arts during recess?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"No; it's just a little strange."

"Well, don't you practice your karate?" Helga asked.

"Yeah, but I do it at home with my grandma," he answered.

"I usually practice whenever I have enough free time, but I've slacking off for the last four months."

"How come?" Arnold asked.

"Because you took up all my time, in a good way," she said with a smile.

"Maybe you and I could practice together some time," Arnold said, smiling as well.

"Sure. I'd be open to that."

Arnold went over to the basketball court and Helga went to a corner of the playground and began practicing her basic moves.

Halfway through Recess, Phoebe came over to where Helga was practicing.

"Helga, can I ask you something?"

Helga stopped and looked at her best friend. "What is it, Phoebe?"

"Well, since you and Arnold are a couple now, I was wondering if you could help me out with Gerald," she said with a blush.

Helga smiled. "I knew you had a thing for him. Well, he obviously likes you so what do you need help with?"

"I agree that he probably likes me, but he hasn't made a move yet. How do I coax him into it?"

"Who says you have to coax him into asking you out? Ask him out," Helga said.

"I guess I could do that…thanks Helga."

"No problem."

Toward the end of the period, Helga ceased her practice and sat down at one of the tables. Arnold came over soon after and sat next to her.

"Did you get in a good practice?" he asked.

"Yeah. Apparently, Phoebe wants to get with Gerald and she's going to ask him out in the near future."

"How do you know?"

"She came over and asked me how to get Gerald to ask her out. I told her to make the first move."

"Well I know Gerald likes her, so I suppose this will be a welcome surprise to him."

* * *

><p>At the end of the school day, Arnold and Helga's walk to the boarding house was silent, just as their walk to school had been. That awkwardness had set in again. Once they reached the house and Helga saw that her mother's car wasn't there, she inwardly sighed in relief.<p>

Once in Arnold's room, Helga made sure she had everything she needed and then sat next to Arnold on the bed.

"I guess all I can do now is wait," Helga said.

"Yeah…" Arnold said softly. He paused before speaking again. "Helga, I want you to promise me something."

"What is it?"

"Keep me updated on how things go at home. Call me or come over when you can. I wanna know if you're happy."

"I'll let you know how things are going, one way or another. Don't worry yourself, football head."

"Helga, you should know by now that it's useless to tell me not to worry because I'm gonna do it anyway."

"I know, but I thought I might give it another try."

"If things get bad, the boarding house is always open."

Helga smiled at him. "I know. Thanks Arnold."

Seconds later, Phil struck his head in the door. "Arnold, the girl's mom is here," he said.

"Alright grandpa." He turned to Helga. "I guess you'd better get going."

"Right…will you walk me to the door?"

"Of course. Before we go though, can you do something for me?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Kiss me goodbye."

"Shouldn't that be done at the door?" Helga asked.

"I want to do it now. If I wait and do it at the door, it's gonna be that much harder to see you go."

"Alright."

The two leaned in and their lips touched. The kiss was long but not deep. When it ended, Arnold had to force himself to pull away from her. He helped carry her things to the front door where Miriam was waiting.

After getting her luggage in the car, Helga went back and hugged Arnold before getting into the passenger's seat. As the car drove away, Helga was looking at Arnold and he watched her until he couldn't her face anymore. His grandfather came out a few moments after the car had driven out of sight.

"I know it's hard to see her go short man, but she needs to be in her own home."

"I know. I just hope that it starts to feel like a real home to her."

"I'm sure it will."


End file.
